Ministers decide to recommend
that the Council for Trade in Services at its first meeting adopt the decision set out
below.
The Council
for Trade in Services,
Acknowledging
that measures necessary to protect the environment may conflict with the provisions of the
Agreement; and
Noting that
since measures necessary to protect the environment typically have as their objective the
protection of human, animal or plant life or health, it is not clear that there is a need
to provide for more than is contained in paragraph (b) of Article XIV;
Decides
as follows:
1. In
order to determine whether any modification of Article XIV of the Agreement is required to
take account of such measures, to request the Committee on Trade and Environment to
examine and report, with recommendations if any, on the relationship between services
trade and the environment including the issue of sustainable development. The Committee
shall also examine the relevance of inter-governmental agreements on the environment and
their relationship to the Agreement.
2. The
Committee shall report the results of its work to the first biennial meeting of the
Ministerial Conference after the entry into force of the Agreement Establishing the World
Trade Organization. |
