Final stage for the EGA negotiations

European industry associations call for a conclusion of the Environmental Goods Agreement by end 2016

European industry associations from different sectors reiterate their support for the negotiations on the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA) and would like to underline the importance of reaching a comprehensive agreement during the final negotiating round scheduled to start on 26 November 2016.

The EGA negotiated under the umbrella of the World Trade Organization is a unique agreement as it pursues the dual objectives of liberalizing trade and contributing to the international environmental protection agenda. Global free trade in environmental products would not only translate into customs duty savings but will also improve environmental protection, promote economic growth and create green jobs through an increase in global trade in environmental goods.

We welcome the approach to maintain the APEC list of 54 environmental products and build upon that list, working towards the inclusion of a wider variety of additional products within a number of identified areas.

In the final phase of the negotiations we urge the negotiators to keep up the level of ambition and to conclude a high-standard, ambitious EGA that eliminates tariffs on a broad range of environmental goods and establishes a future-oriented, living agreement. As a living agreement the EGA should also build in a mechanism to address non-tariff barriers and issues related to trade in services for environmental goods in the future.

We are convinced that a successful outcome of the EGA negotiations will reinforce the rulesbased multilateral trading system and benefit all WTO Members