Structured discussions

Trade and environmental sustainability *

Fifty WTO members launched in November 2020 structured discussions to intensify work on trade and environmental sustainability. The Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) are intended to complement the work of the Committee on Trade and Environment and other relevant WTO bodies and to support the objectives of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO, which envisages a global trading system that protects and preserves the environment in accordance with sustainable development. Over 70 WTO members are currently cosponsoring the discussions, which are open to all members.

A Ministerial Statement adopted in December 2021 sets out future work for the initiative in areas such as trade and climate change, trade in environmental goods and services, circular economy, and sustainable supply chains.

On this page:

See also

TESSD at MC13

TESSD package for MC13

Outcome documents of Informal Working Groups

  • Member Practices in the development of trade-related climate measures (TrCMs) - WT/MIN(24)/11/Add.2
  • Analytical Summary on environmental goods and services and renewable energy - WT/MIN(24)/11/Add.3
  • Mapping of trade aspects of circular economy along the product lifecycle - WT/MIN(24)/11/Add.4
  • Compilation of experiences and considerations regarding subsidy design - WT/MIN(24)/11/Add.5

News

Participation

There are currently WTO members participating in the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions, including members from all regions and at all levels of development: least developed countries (LDCs), developing countries and developed countries. Ambassador Nadia Theodore (Canada) and Ambassador Ronald Saborío Soto (Costa Rica) jointly coordinate this initiative, which is open to all WTO members.

Meetings

15-16 April – TESSD Informal Working Group meetings

Working Group on Environmental Goods and Services

Working Group on Subsidies

Working Group on Circular Economy – Circularity

Working Group on Trade-related Climate Measures

25 January – TESSD Plenary meeting

2 December - TESSD High-Level Stocktaking Event

11 November

4-5 October – TESSD Informal Working Groups meetings

Working Group on Environmental Goods and Services

Working Group on Trade-related Climate Measures

Working Group on Circular Economy – Circularity

Working Group on Subsidies

19-20 July - TESSD Plenary meeting

Regional Experiences

Asia-Pacific

Africa

South and Central America and the Caribbean

17-18 May - TESSD Informal Working Groups meetings

Working Group on Environmental Goods and Services

Working Group on Trade-related Climate Measures

Working Group on Circular Economy – Circularity

Working Group on Subsidies

31 March and 11 April - TESSD Plenary meeting

Presentations

7 February

4 November

16-17 September

19 July

26-28 May

5 March

Documents submitted by WTO Members *

Date

Submitted by

Document number

23 May 2023

United Kingdom

 INF/TE/SSD/W/26
INF/TE/SSD/W/26/Add.1

23 March 2023

United Kingdom

 INF/TE/SSD/W/23

4 May 2022

United States

 INF/TE/SSD/W/19

16 July 2021

Australia

 INF/TE/SSD/W/16

14 July 2021

United Kingdom

 INF/TE/SSD/W/15

26 May 2021

Japan

 INF/TE/SSD/W/13

26 May 2021

Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador and Paraguay

 INF/TE/SSD/W/12

6 May 2021

TESSD Coordinators

 INF/TE/SSD/W/11

22 March 2021

Japan

 INF/TE/SSD/W/10

3 March 2021

Australia; Korea, Republic of; Singapore

 INF/TE/SSD/W/9

5 February 2021

Korea, Republic of

 INF/TE/SSD/W/8

8 February 2021

European Union

 INF/TE/SSD/W/7

5 February 2021

United Kingdom

 INF/TE/SSD/W/6

12 February 2021

Iceland

 INF/TE/SSD/W/5

8 February 2021

Switzerland

 INF/TE/SSD/W/4

8 February 2021

Canada

 INF/TE/SSD/W/3

5 February 2021

Japan

 INF/TE/SSD/W/2

5 February 2021

New Zealand

 INF/TE/SSD/W/1

Scope of the discussions

In a joint communication issued in November 2020 during WTO Trade and Environment Week 2020, the 50 co-sponsors said they would collaborate to identify areas for future work to help the WTO address sustainable development challenges more effectively and would work on possible environmental sustainability “actions and deliverables”.

In addition, the co-sponsors noted their willingness to work alongside relevant international organizations and other actors to support the technical assistance and capacity-building needs on trade and environmental sustainability of least-developed countries (LDCs) and other WTO members. The joint communication also highlights the intention to promote transparency through intensified dialogue and information sharing.

State of play

To organize their work, the participants have launched "structured discussions" for interested WTO members. These discussions include a dialogue with the business community, civil society, international organizations and academic institutions. These efforts seek to complement and support the work of other WTO committees and bodies, including the Committee on Trade and Environment.

During the TESSD meetings held so far, participants have discussed topics such as trade-related climate measures, sustainable supply chains, environmental goods and services, circular economy, green aid for trade, fossil fuel subsidy reform, and sustainable food and agriculture. Opportunities and challenges for sustainable trade for developing countries and LDCs have been given consideration across these topics.

At a joint event on 15 December 2021, co-sponsors of three environmental initiatives - TESSD, the Informal Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Sustainable Plastics Trade (IDP), and Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) - launched their respective Ministerial Statements. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala joined ministers from the initiative co-coordinators, heads of international organizations and representatives from business and civil society groups in welcoming the initiatives and highlighting that trade, and the WTO, are part of the solution to climate change and environmental degradation.

The TESSD Ministerial Statement (WT/MIN(21)/6/Rev.2) of the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) has 71 co-sponsors, which account for around 84% of global trade. The Statement sets out future work for the initiative in areas such as trade and climate change, trade in environmental goods and services, circular economy, sustainable supply chains, capacity building and technical assistance for sustainable trade, and subsidies. It also foresees a high-level stocktaking event towards the end of 2022.

The TESSD Work Plan 2022 (INF/TE/SSD/W/17/Rev.1) provides for the creation of Informal Working Groups on (i) trade-related climate measures; (ii) environmental goods and services; (iii) circular economy - circularity; and (iv) subsidies, to allow for more in-depth discussions and make progress towards tangible outcomes. Working Groups will be led by facilitators, who will report back to formal TESSD meetings.

In December 2022, a high-level event took place to take stock of the progress made by the discussions so far and to highlight priorities for further work ahead of MC13 scheduled to take place at end-February 2024. Opening the event, Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala called the structured discussions a “trailblazer at the WTO” and praised members for exploring new trade solutions to environmental issues.

In preparation for the event, a summary report capturing the range of TESSD work in 2022 was issued. In addition, the TESSD co-convenors (Canada and Costa Rica) circulated a statement recognizing the progress made in 2022 and indicating how participating members would focus their work in 2023.

* The documents on this page relate to an initiative among a group of WTO members and are not part of a multilaterally agreed WTO process. Back to text

Share

Key TESSD documents

Problems viewing this page? If so, please contact [email protected] giving details of the operating system and web browser you are using.