Hello, everyone
Welcome to the WTO

I would like to thank the Gambia and France for inviting me to participate in this discussion organized by Sustainability Rounds.  I am delighted to be here alongside my colleague and friend, Deputy Director-General Zhang. He is in charge of development issues and I am in charge of environmental issues: together we work towards sustainable development! And we do so with great conviction.

I would like to make three simple observations about how we deal with the environment and the issue of plastics at the WTO.

The first observation is that we are fully aware that the issue of environmental sustainability is reshaping the whole economy. Every aspect of the design, production and exchange of goods and services will be transformed to become environmentally sustainable. Our Director-General, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, often says, “the future of trade is green”.

There are two driving forces behind this greening. The market: demand in general is shifting towards sustainable products. The rise of the electric car is an example of this. And a political driver: citizens are asking their governments for environmental policies and regulations, so-called "net-zero" policies, decarbonization, measures to combat deforestation and preserve biodiversity, circularity…etc. This trend is prominent in developed economies but is seen in all countries. India and China, for example, have very high environmental requirements. This transformation goes to the heart of companies' business models.

My second observation concerns the role of the World Trade Organization: what should be done? What can be done in relation to this transformation? Historically, the WTO did not deal with environmental issues. The environment is acknowledged in our agreements, but essentially as a legitimate exception to the normal rule of trade, which is the principle of non-discrimination. Nowadays, however, the environmental transformation is increasingly affecting international trade.

— On the one hand, the proliferation of new private and public environmental standards is creating new kinds of barriers to trade, increasing transaction costs — for example, costs related to the environmental auditing and certification of products — and affecting the functioning of value chains. If there is no international cooperation to discuss these issues, there will be negative consequences for trade, development and the environment itself.

— On the other hand, international trade is a formidable force that can accelerate the achievement of environmental goals. If a green technology is invented in one country — for example, an alternative to plastic or a recycling technology — trade allows it to be circulated very quickly to other countries. And this is what trade policies must encourage.

I mentioned plastic, which unites us all. This will be my final observation. The fight against plastic pollution is a very good illustration of everything I have just said. Plastic pollution is a global problem, on land and at sea. Countries respond individually through policies to combat this pollution: they ban imports of waste, regulate products and subsidize recycling. These policies are legitimate, but without international cooperation, they can be problematic and not very effective.

Just one example: the elimination of single-use plastic bags. There are dozens of different ways to define a single-use plastic bag: for example, by the thickness of the bag. If we could go some way to harmonizing these definitions internationally, there would be a much larger market for alternatives. Customs duty on plastic alternatives could be lowered.

This work on trade and tackling plastic pollution started at the WTO four or five years ago. It was originally proposed by my colleague, Deputy Director-General Zhang, who was his country's ambassador at the time, and I salute his vision. A lot of technical work has been done by our Members, the first results of which were presented last week. You will have the opportunity to discuss this today, as the team in charge, led by Ms Tamiotti and Mr Ramos, will participate in your discussion.

I would like to conclude with a final word of thanks to the companies participating in this event. At the WTO, governments negotiate, but companies make the investments. There will be no environmental transformation without these investments. We are therefore very pleased to be able to benefit from exchanges such as this one, for which I would like to thank the organizers, Ms Stéphanie Noël and Ms Virginie Tassin Campanella, co-founders of Sustainability Rounds.

Thank you.