The past months have been marked by considerable uncertainty regarding the future of trade and trade policy. Following are some of the highlights from this quarter.

In response to US trade policy announcements, TESS published a series of perspectives from external experts on our Synergies platform looking at the potential impacts of US “reciprocal” tariffs on developing countries and vulnerable populations. We also published an impressive range of views from experts around the world as part of our ongoing Synergies series on Addressing the climate crisis and supporting climate-resilient development: Where can the trading system contribute?

An important step this quarter was the release of an international expert group report on environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies (see below). This is the third international expert group mobilized by TESS over the past 18 months to have produced a landmark report, following that of an expert group on trade-related climate measures and policies and another on trade, circular economy, and sustainable development.

Other highlights included our collaboration with partners on workshops and dialogues on key issues facing the international trading system. For example, we joined the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, Remaking Trade for a Sustainable Future project, and IDOS to co-host a two-day workshop on 26–27 May in South Africa on Reimagining cooperation on trade and sustainability: An African perspective. On 4 June, we organized with ODI Global, IIED, and EIF a workshop on Securing finance and technology for LDCs' climate-resilient development: The role of trade and international cooperation. A brief summary is available and you can also watch an interview of TESS Executive Director Carolyn Deere Birkbeck where she discusses key takeaways.

We also participated in and supported the organization of a number of sessions at WTO Trade and Environment Week 2025, including a session co-hosted by Barbados, Chad, and Pakistan on how international trade cooperation can support climate-resilient development and just transitions. Video recordings of sessions are available.

Events to look out for in the next quarter include the WTO Public Forum on 17–18 September. Alongside, TESS will organize the opening plenary of Geneva Trade Week 2025, scheduled for 15–19 September, and will host a set of formal and informal roundtables across the week on critical issues at the nexus of trade and sustainability. Later, we are especially looking forward to the inaugural edition of our Annual Conference on Trade, Climate, and Sustainable Development (2025 TCSD Conference), slated for 23–24 October in Geneva. The theme of this first edition is Trade cooperation pathways for climate action, resilience, and justice. More information will follow soon.

Finally, in case you missed it, check out our Annual Report 2024 published in April, which reviews our work and shares some of our main achievements and impacts during that year.

Over recent weeks, TESS has continued to publish sectoral briefing notes as part of our series on Trade and climate scenarios on the road to 2050: Implications for developing countries and climate-resilient development. The sectors covered so far include agriculture, carbon markets, energy transition, fisheries, heavy industries, shipping, and textiles, each authored by experts in these respective fields. In the coming weeks, we will be publishing the final two briefing notes on mining and digital trade. When completed, the briefing notes will be compiled and inform a synthesis piece ahead of the 2025 TCSD Conference and the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30).

Amidst the proliferation of trade-related measures and policies with climate objectives, there is growing interest among a range of WTO members on what can be done to address issues related to their transparency, equity and development, coherence, and interoperability. To contribute to inclusive dialogue in this critical space for both climate ambition and trade cooperation, TESS is convening a series of informal roundtables. In February, we hosted an event with leading experts on Fostering coherence, fairness, and interoperability in the design of trade-related climate measures: Options for inclusive cooperation at the WTO? and are continuing to convene roundtables with government representatives in Geneva with an eye to supporting cooperation and concrete outcomes at the WTO.

To inform this work, in April, we published a briefing note by Scott Vaughan on Climate mitigation measures and some policy interoperability approaches, which provides examples of climate policy interoperability in the areas of equivalency and converging international standards. We have also circulated an advanced draft of a briefing note by TESS on Fostering enhanced international cooperation on trade-related measures with climate objectives at the WTO: Coherence, transparency, development, and interoperability. The briefing note will be released in September ahead of the WTO Public Forum and Geneva Trade Week.

Finally, in partnerships with developing country governments and expert institutions, we continue to make progress in our project designed to support developing country governments to formulate national visions, strategies, and policy options on trade that reflect national climate and sustainable development challenges and priorities.

View our thematic work on the climate crisis.

As governments prepare to gather in Geneva on 5–14 August aiming to conclude discussions at the resumed fifth session of International Negotiating Committee (INC) negotiations, over the past months we continued to support the work of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (HAC) as part of its Secretariat function, including by assisting HAC members in their preparations. In addition, we have been supporting the treaty process through events and consultations focused on fostering convergence on several indispensable, yet challenging, elements of the negotiations: primary production and consumption, plastic products and chemicals in plastics, health, and financing.

On 25 April, we supported the governments of Mexico and Switzerland in hosting an event on Addressing chemicals of concern in plastics: Pathways to protection of the environment and human health in the plastics treaty (view recording). On 2 May, at the Conference of the Parties of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, we co-organized with the governments of Ecuador and Barbados a side event dedicated to Plastic pollution and transparency in trade flows in the context of multilateral environmental agreements and the protection of the environment and health (view recording). Then on 19 May, we co-hosted a side event at the World Health Assembly on Protecting people and planet: Supporting implementation of the future plastics treaty. You can view a video interview of Carolyn Deere Birkbeck and TESS Senior Policy Advisor Lizzie Fuller presenting some of key issues going forward.

On 5 June, World Environment Day focused on ending plastic pollution. Carolyn Deere Birkbeck spoke as a panellist at the celebration organized by the Geneva Environment Network, where leading experts highlighted how the International Geneva multilateral diplomacy system is collectively taking action to tackle plastic pollution. Additionally, this edition of World Environment Day was an opportunity to provide an update on our work to beat plastic pollution. With less than two months remaining until we resume negotiations for INC 5.2, it is vital to support members to focus on the essential elements for securing a treaty that is ambitious, effective, and fair.

Finally, at the WTO we continued to support the efforts of the co-facilitators and members involved in the DPP, with our engagement focused on helping the membership achieve the stated goal of reaching concrete, pragmatic, and effective outcomes at MC14.

View our thematic work on plastic pollution.

Sustainability in agriculture and food systems has been an important strand of work for TESS since its inception. In this area, government subsidies to agriculture are a critical topic for attention given their influence on international production and consumption patterns and their impacts on the environment.

In 2024, we mobilized an International Expert Group on Environmentally Harmful Agricultural Subsidies with a specific mandate: identify a set of environmentally harmful subsidies for priority action at the international level. The expert group was asked to contribute to building shared understandings of what constitutes environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies to inform ongoing discussions in the WTO, OECD, FAO, UNEP, and World Bank and in the context of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The group's final report was released in June this year and has already attracted considerable praise and attention.

In May, to inform the work of the international expert group, we published a briefing note, authored by expert group member Anthony Cox, providing a review of the latest impacts of the agricultural sector on greenhouse gas emissions. It identifies context-specific considerations for these impacts as well as broader social, economic, and environmental trade-offs, and discusses possible priorities and directions for reforming agricultural subsidies.

On 26 June, we partnered with WWF International to host in Geneva a roundtable on Accelerating progress on nature, climate change, and sustainable development in a shifting international trading system. At the event, TESS presented a paper aiming to provide background to support forward-looking strategic dialogue on the potential building blocks of a new narrative and policy agenda on international trade that places nature and people at its heart. The paper will be co-published with WWF International and launched during the WTO Public Forum this year.

As we marked World Biodiversity Day on 22 May, we reflected on the progress made to halt and reverse the loss of biodiversity since implementation of the Biodiversity Plan and re-emphasized our commitment to fostering inclusive international cooperation on nature-positive trade and the range of trade policies relevant to biodiversity.

View our thematic work on nature, food, and resources.

Our circular economy activities during the past quarter were primarily focused on amplifying the reach among key stakeholders of the report of the International Expert Group on Trade, Circular Economy, and Sustainable Development mobilized by TESS to develop guidance on best practices and approaches on the trade dimensions of circular economy policies and measures. The report identifies 10 considerations to guide the design and implementation of trade-related circular economy policies and measures in ways that support advancing sustainable development and inclusive international cooperation on trade and sustainability.

The report’s findings have been gaining traction, including among members of the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) at the WTO, where there is a dedicated Working Group on Circular Economy – Circularity.

View our thematic work on circular economy.

As preparations for the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in March 2026 intensify, the trade and sustainability agenda at the WTO continues to advance. Despite the backdrop of uncertainty regarding the multilateral trading system triggered by the US administration’s trade policy announcements, the day-to-day dialogue among WTO members on a range of sustainability topics is still advancing.

Recent developments include meetings of the informal working groups under the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD), ongoing regional and pre-plenary consultations under the Dialogue on Plastics Pollution and Environmentally Sustainable Plastics Trade (DPP), and discussions under the Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform (FFSR) initiative on next steps for developingn concrete, practical outcomes for MC14. On 5–6 May, a retreat on sustainable agriculture was held under the auspices of the General Council.

The sixth edition of Trade and Environment Week, held from 30 June to 4 July, brought together WTO members and stakeholders for a programme of 15 member-organized events as well as formal sessions of the Committee on Trade and Environment. Registration is open for the WTO Public Forum, which will take place on 17–18 September.

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At the June Climate Meetings (SB62) in Bonn (16–26 June), parties sought to advance technical work on Article 6 mechanisms, adaptation finance, and transparency systems. Contentious discussions on climate finance and unilateral measures—including border carbon adjustments—were deferred to informal consultations. The Just Transition Work Programme also moved forward, with new text referencing trade-related impacts, setting the stage for further discussion at COP30.

On 3 March in Geneva, the 5th UN Ocean Forum focused on trade-related approaches to achieving SDG 14, highlighting sustainable fisheries, blue economy opportunities, and marine conservation strategies linked to global trade infrastructure. The 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice (9–13 June) generated a set of voluntary commitments and guidelines on a range of issues critical to oceans and sustainable development, including on blue finance, the blue economy, marine pollution, and fisheries reform; with the latter topic having direct relevance to the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. By early, 103 members had formally accepted the agreement, with only 8 more acceptances needed for the agreement to enter into force.

The triple COPs of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions convened in Geneva (28 April–9 May), adopting a series of decisions seeking to protect human health and the environment in relation to chemicals and waste, where transboundary trade is a central issue being tackled by governments given the intricate nature of modern supply chains. At the 78th World Health Assembly, held in Geneva (19–27 May), health ministers agreed on measures to reinforce pandemic preparedness, antimicrobial resistance control, and sustainable supply chains, spotlighting the critical link between trade and global health security.

Closing the quarter, the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development hosted in Sevilla (30 June–3 July) focused on reforms for financing sustainable development. Discussions covered climate finance, debt relief mechanisms, and private sector investment in green infrastructure, with a key initiative being the Sevilla Commitment to mobilize funds for the SDGs and climate action.

Looking at developments in non-multilateral intergovernmental processes related to trade and sustainability, on 28 May in Brasília, the BRICS countries agreed to establish the BRICS Laboratory for Trade, Climate Change and Sustainable Development with a mandate to support BRICS countries in promoting positive approaches to hybrid measures. On 26 June in South Africa, the G20’s Think 20 (T20) engagement group issued high-level policy recommendations ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, calling for climate-compatible trade systems, digital sustainability platforms, and equitable transitions as core pillars of policy action.

On 5–14 August, negotiators will pick up discussions on a global plastics treaty at a resumed Fifth session of the INC. TESS will be at this resumed session supporting the treaty negotiations and the High Ambition Coalition while working to foster convergence on critical yet challenging elements of the negotiations (see above).

UNCTAD16 will be hosted in Geneva in October under the theme Charting a new development course in a changing world. The conference is expected to focus on structural transformation, debt sustainability, digitalization, and trade for sustainable development, with particular attention to the needs of developing and least developed countries. It will also provide a platform to assess UNCTAD’s role in supporting inclusive and resilient trade and financial systems.

From 10–21 November, the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) will convene in Belém, Brazil. Noted by many observers as potentially one of the most significant UN climate conferences in recent years, TESS will be on the ground seeking to explore ways forward on ambitious and inclusive trade cooperation to meet the Paris Agreement goals and achieve climate-resilient and sustainable development.

Other meetings on our radar this year include: the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (New York, USA I 14–23 July); the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 80) (New York I 9–23 September); the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) 21st Annual General Meeting (Geneva I 18–20 November); the G20 Leaders’ Summit (Johannesburg, South Africa I 22–23 November); and the Seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7) (Nairobi, Kenya I 8–12 December).