Checklist for Negotiators of Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements

This document provides a checklist on environmental issues for negotiators of regional trade agreements (RTAs) in order to provide guidance to countries wishing to include environmental provisions in RTAs. The checklist draws on countries’ experience of negotiating and implementing environmental provisions of RTAs, which other countries may find useful when considering their own approaches to environmental issues in RTAs. The checklist is intended to provide a reference to assist discussion of environmental issues, when the inclusion of environmental provisions is considered appropriate, before, during and after negotiation of trade agreements. It is by no means prescriptive. As the number and variety of RTAs continues to increase, the checklist should be viewed as a ‘living document’ that could be modified and updated as countries gain new experience.