The EU and 16 other countries participating in the plurilateral negotiations being conducted on the side-lines of the WTO for an environmental goods agreement (EGA) did not reach a consensus at a ministerial meeting in Geneva on Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December due to differences of opinion with China about the list of goods to be covered. The meeting was co-chaired by European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and outgoing US Trade Representative Mike Froman.
"The United States and the European Union worked with all WTO members involved to achieve the broadest possible consensus through creative solutions to bridge the gaps in the negotiations. Many EGA participants engaged constructively and brought new contributions to the table. The Chairs issued documents designed to stabilise the text of the agreement and produced a revised products list that balances priorities and sensitivities", Malmström and Froman summed up in a statement, adding that the EGA-participating countries would now examine the next steps at national level.
On Sunday, the EU and US tabled a list of environmental goods on which to remove customs duties. The list was limited to 300 goods covering renewable energy-generating technologies, energy saving technologies, waste-management and recycling systems, or devices for water treatment and air pollution control.
At the last minute, China countered this list with a list of its own, which excluded goods considered as priorities for the EU and the US, such as wind turbines, pumps and valves, and included goods that were part of their red lines, such as electric bikes.
Malmström told press that the Chinese list included "far too many differences" compared with the EU-US list, and that these could not be ironed out "in just a few hours". She also regretted that China had not become involved with is specificities "earlier".
She nevertheless expressed confidence that the EGA could be concluded successfully in 2017, despite the uncertainties linked to the new US administration led by Donald Trump which will take office in January. Indeed, more than 213 tariff lines were common to both the EU-US list and the Chinese list. "Each [party] leaves with a clear resolution to conclude an agreement [in 2017]. This is important for the environment and for the climate", she said.
The EGA is aimed at removing customs duties on a series of environmentally-friendly goods and technologies, for which the global market is estimated at US$1 trillion. The countries participating in the EGA represent over 90% of the global trade in these goods. In total, the EGA would enable global CO² emissions to be cut by 10% by 2030.
Following the commitment taken by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2012 to cut customs duties on 54 environmental goods, the EU and 13 countries – Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan and the USA – became involved in the EGA talks in July 2014. They have since been joined by Iceland, Israel and Turkey. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)