It's Your Turn
Strategic Environmental Assessment of the new World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations
Notice published in the Canada Gazette, June 8, 2002
Notice that the Government of Canada will begin conducting a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the new World Trade Organization negotiations launched at Doha in November 2001
The Government of Canada intends to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment (EA) of the new World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, which were launched at Doha in November 2001, and invites comments on their likely and significant environmental impacts on Canada.
The World Trade Organization
Canada is one of the world's leading traders. In 2001, exports of goods and services represented 43 percent of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) and trade supported one in four jobs. Canada's economic growth and prosperity is clearly linked to our trade success. Canada's current and future prosperity depends on an international framework of rules that provides access to growing world markets and keeps pace with changes in technology, business practices, social systems, and public interests. The WTO is the cornerstone of Canadian trade policy and the foundation for Canada's relations with our trading partners. At its heart are several multilateral trade agreements.
At Doha, in November 2001, WTO members launched a new round of multilateral trade negotiations, to be concluded by January 1, 2005. The negotiations will be a "single undertaking," meaning that nothing is finally agreed until everything is finally agreed. Agreements reached at an early stage can, however, be implemented on a provisional basis. The negotiations will serve to achieve:
-
substantial improvements in agricultural market access;
-
the reduction, with a view to phasing out, of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support;
-
improvements in market access for services;
-
clearer rules on anti-dumping, subsidies and countervailing duties;
-
the reduction or elimination of non-agricultural tariffs and non-tariff barriers;
-
improvements to the Dispute Settlement Understanding;
-
a system of notification and registration of geographical indications for wines and spirits; and
-
enhanced mutual supportiveness of trade and the environment including the relationship between existing WTO rules and specific trade obligations in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs).
Sustainable Development and the WTO
The aims of upholding and safeguarding an open and rules-based multilateral trading system, and acting for the protection of the environment and the promotion of sustainable development can and must be mutually supportive. In the Doha Ministerial Declaration, members of the WTO reaffirmed their commitment to the objective of sustainable development, and noted efforts, such as this, to conduct national environmental assessments of trade policies. Members welcomed the WTO's continued cooperation with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), other inter-governmental environmental Organizations and relevant international environmental and developmental Organizations.
Strategic Environmental Assessments
The Government of Canada is committed to sustainable development. Mutually supportive trade and environmental policies can contribute to this objective. Toward this end, the Minister for International Trade, with the support of his Cabinet colleagues, has directed trade officials to improve their understanding of, and information base on, the relationship between trade and environment issues at the earliest stages of decision-making, and to do this through an open and inclusive process. The environmental assessment of trade negotiations is critical to this work.
In February 2001, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) published the Framework for Conducting Environmental Assessments of Trade Negotiations (Framework) with guidance from the 1999 Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals. For the full text of the Framework, please refer to: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/Environment-e.asp
An EA is a systematic process of identifying and evaluating likely and significant environmental impacts of an initiative. Public consultations will be conducted throughout the EA process, which includes the following steps:
-
announcement of the intent to conduct an EA which is the purpose of this Canada Gazette notice;
-
preparation of an Initial EA that will define the scope of the more complete analysis to be carried out in the next stage;
-
preparation of a Draft EA, which will include an in depth analysis of the issues raised in the initial EA; and
-
preparation of a Final EA report that will be released after the conclusion of the negotiations.
In each of the above steps, the analysis follows four stages:
-
identify the economic effects in Canada of the negotiation;
-
identify the likely environmental impacts in Canada of such effects;
-
assess the significance of the likely environmental impacts; and
-
identify enhancement/mitigation options to inform the negotiation process.
EA of the WTO Negotiations
An EA committee has been formed to undertake the analysis as outlined in the Framework. Coordinated by DFAIT, the WTO EA Committee includes representatives from Environment Canada, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and other relevant government departments and agencies. An important responsibility of the Committee will be the consideration of input from stakeholders in the formulation of the reports at each stage. Views from other levels of government, Sectoral Advisory Groups on International Trade (SAGITs), business groups and the public will also be sought.
Submissions by Interested Parties
All interested parties are invited to submit by July 31, 2002 their views on likely and significant environmental impacts on Canada. These submissions will help the Government of Canada develop Canada's negotiating objectives at the WTO. Information on these objectives can be found at http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/tna-nac/menu-e.asp.
Please be advised that any information received as a result of these consultations will be considered public information. Parties may indicate if their submission contains sensitive information of which the Government should be aware. Submissions should include:
-
contributor's name and address, and if applicable, their Organization, institution or business;
-
specific issues being addressed; and
-
the rationale for the positions taken.
Contributions can be sent by electronic-mail, facsimile or mail to:
WTO Environmental Assessment Consultations, Environmental Services Division (AES),
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade,
Lester B. Pearson Building,
125 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0G2.
consultations@dfait-maeci.gc.ca (electronic mail),
(613)944-0757 (Facsimile)
Updated on June 10, 2002
|
