WTO, Environment and India

A Ministerial Declaration on Trade and Environment was adopted in Marrakesh on April 14, 1994, just before the signing of the Uruguay Round Agreement. It established a Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) to identify the relationship between trade measures and environmental measures and to make appropriate recommendations on whether any modifications of the provisions of the multilateral trading system are required for the promotion of sustainable development. The Decision also required the CTE to give its recommendations to the WTO's first Ministerial Conference.

The CTE had intensive discussions on a ten-point agenda for two years where some developed countries wanted widening of the scope of Article XX GATT 1994 to exclude trade measures taken for environmental purposes from the purview of GATT disciplines. India and most other developing countries resisted this. Finally, the CTE sent a factual report to the Ministers at Singapore. The Singapore Ministerial Conference directed the CTE to continue its work and to report to the General Council of the WTO. This work has been continuing in the Committee.

India has been active in the CTE deliberations and was instrumental in developing a balance on the issues being discussed and conclusions and recommendations formulated. This was possible  because India developed its own positive agenda to counter the agenda of developed countries.     

India has made several proposals in the CTE. The most important among them relates to transfer of environmentally sound technologies and products on affordable terms, rewarding indigenous knowledge and biodiversity utilized in creating IPRs, and safeguarding and enhancing market access of developing countries in the face of increasing environment related barriers.

A number of concerns have been expressed by developing countries on the issue of environment. While work already accomplished in the CTE must provide the starting point, measures taken for environmental purposes should not be allowed to be used as protectionist devices. Further, there should be clear recognition that environmental standards differ from country to country and that the solution lies in mutual recognition of product-related standards rather than harmonization of standards. It is also imperative that while developing environmental requirements, members should take into account the need to safeguard existing market access of developing countries and the need to increase their market access further in order to facilitate sustainable development.

Meanwhile, pressures are mounting from developed countries, especially EU and the US. They propose to address the environmental concerns through the respective negotiating groups on sectors and issues mandated by the Third Ministerial Conference, thereby bypassing the balance existing in the CTE. There are also attempts to widen the scope of Article XX of GATT 1994 and of bringing non-product related Process and Product Methods under WTO disciplines. Developing countries, including India, have been taking the stand that those environmental issues should be addressed through Multilateral Environmental Agreements and relevant bodies and that the present WTO disciplines adequately address environmental concerns.