Regional Trade agreements (RTAs), which comprises of bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements, free trade agreements, economic partnerships and other arrangements aiming at trade liberalisation between countries, have grown substantially over the last decade. Countries increasingly use these trade agreements to co-operate on environmental matters by including environmental provisions in RTAs.

A number of annual updates were developed from 2007 to 2013 to track the development of environmental provisions in RTAs. A series of analytical reports are released and includes “a checklist for negotiators”, “framework for evaluation” and “trends and policy drivers” on environmental provisions in RTAs.

The 2007 flagship publication “Environment and Regional Trade Agreements” describes the state of the art for environmental provisions, side agreements and co-operation agreements linked to RTAs. Since 2005, the OECD work on Regional Trade Agreement and the environment is carried out by the Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment (JWPTE).

This work is also accompanied by periodic workshops by several workshops for government officials and other experts on RTAs and the environment.

focus

• Greening regional trade agreements on non-tariff measures through technical barriers to trade and regulatory co-operation, OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper | 23 December 2020
• Greening regional trade agreements on investment, OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper | 26 October 2020
• Greening regional trade agreements: Subsidies related to energy and environmental goods, OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper | 7 January 2020
• Assessing the Effectiveness of Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements, OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper | 13 September 2018
• Assessing Implementation of Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements, OECD Trade and Environment Working Paper | 28 March 2018

 

WORKshops

OECD Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements and the Environment  Santiago, Chile, 2018

OECD Workshop on Greening Regional Trade Agreements: Opportunities and Insights from International Experience Paris, France, 2016

‌‌   OECD Regional Workshop on Regional Trade Agreement and the Environment Hanoi, Viet Nam, 2014 / Summary Report

Other workshops

• OECD Workshop Regional Trade Agreement and the Environment: Monitoring Implementation and Assessing Impacts, Paris, France, 2010 | Summary Report
• OECD Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements and the Environment, Santiago, Chile 2008 
• OECD Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements and the Environment, Tokyo, Japan 2007 | Summary Report
• OECD Workshop on Regional Trade Agreements and the Environment, Paris, France 2006

 

Flagship publication: annual updates

‌	Reports on the OECD Environment and Regional Trade Agreements: 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007

Analytical reports: oecd trade and environment working papers

Checklist for Negotiators

•  Checklist for Negotiators of Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements, No. 2008/02

Framework for Evaluation

• Implementing Regional Trade Agreements with Environmental Provisions: A Framework for Evaluation, No. 2011/06

Emerging Trends and Policy Drivers

• Environment and Regional Trade Agreements: Emerging Trends and Policy Drivers, No. 2014/02

 

OECD PROGRAMMES

• Trade and the environment
• Regional Trade Agreements
• Trade, resource efficiency and circular economy