Trade plays a central role in the global plastics economy. In 2021, the value of trade across the life cycle of plastics reached close to $1.2 trillion. Trade policies are directly relevant to the expanding plastics economy and plastic pollution. They can lock in or exacerbate unsustainable production and consumption patterns but also be harnessed to support efforts to end plastic pollution.
Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Mahesh Sugathan, & Simon Ardila Eraso
Publication date
13 December 2022
The member-led WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution—launched in November 2020 and co-sponsored by 75 members representing over 75% of global trade in plastics—aims to foster trade cooperation on plastic pollution within the framework of the WTO’s rules and mechanisms while complementing, supporting, and preventing duplication with efforts and processes in other international fora.
This policy brief is intended as an introduction for government officials and stakeholders keen to understand more about the origins and work of the Dialogue. It reviews the Dialogue’s evolution, purpose, and work and also presents an overview of key options for trade-related cooperation identified to date.
As governments continue negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution, members of the WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution have the opportunity to identify options for trade-related cooperation and foster concrete outcomes at the WTO and beyond that can support this global effort.
The authors
Recommended citation: Deere Birkbeck, C., Sugathan, M., & Ardila Eraso, S. (2022). The WTO Dialogue on Plastics Pollution: Overview and state of play. Forum on Trade, Environment, & the SDGs (TESS).