Prof. Robert Wolfe, of Queens University, said that the importance of the Transparency Mechanism is often ignored; compliance is inconsistent; best in Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT); next step is accountability. He referred to the relative success of G20 monitoring, with an active Secretariat verifying rather than just waiting for information. He queried the use of carbon labels and suggested making fuller use of the Trade Policy Review mechanism to review sustainable development considerations.

Prof. Jorge Viñuales, of the Graduate Institute, said that WTO and MEA (multilateral environmental agreements) trade rules have not been fully exploited, and that a change of mind-set is needed. He said that the trade regime was the mainland to which environmental law was an immigrant rather than an equal. The WTO chose a highly restrictive interpretation in EC – Biotech case, he said. Environmental treaty language, he stated, is becoming more specific as to the relationship between different norms, i.e. Nagoya Protocol in 4.1.

Ms Katharina Kummer, of the Basel Convention Secretariat, proposed that the WTO and Basel secretariats and industry associations work together. Regarding e-waste, she said that the traditional approach was to prohibit and restrict trade in waste, the legal criticism being that this was not GATT compatible. She said that the practical problem is that enforcement is incredibly difficult and expensive and trade is forced underground. E-waste contains large amounts of valuable metals that could be extracted in standard-compliant facilities, she said.