Q1: Since the focus of the WTO is on trade liberalization, what role does it have in environment protection?A:International environment protection is dealt with mainly through multilateral or bilateral environment agreements. However, international trade can have significant impact on the environment, therefore the WTO has tried to support those agreements and efforts aimed at environment protection at the same time as promoting trade liberalization.
Q2: How does the WTO deal with environmental issues?
A:After the WTO was established in 1994, it set up a Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE). Representatives of relevant international environmental organizations are invited to attend the regular meetings of the CTE. This has provided a mechanism for the regular exchange of trade-related environmental information and views between WTO Members and the main international bodies on the environment.
As far as the Doha Round negotiations are concerned, the DDA mandates on trade and environment cover the following issues:
(1) the relationship between existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations set out in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
(2) procedures for regular information exchange between MEA Secretariats and the relevant WTO committees, and the criteria for the granting of observer status
(3) the reduction or, as appropriate, elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to environmental goods and services.
Q3: What is the potential impact of trade-related environmental issues? How is Taiwan approaching this aspect?
A:Since Taiwan is not a party to most of the international environmental agreements, it is more vulnerable to being affected by the terms and restrictions contained in these agreements. We are working through the WTO mechanism to reduce such effects.
To this end, during the current term of the DDA, Taiwan has submitted four position papers so far. The aim is to ensure that our right to resort to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism will not be eroded in the event of any trade-related environmental dispute occurring between Taiwan and other countries.
We are in favour of the WTO providing greater observer status to the MEAs, and encouraging the WTO and MEA Secretariats to develop their information exchange further.
Our position on the issue of the trade liberalization of environmental goods is that we are proposing to list as Environmental Goods those products used directly for pollution prevention.
