Where does your stuff come from? Better understand how global trade works today and how it differs from the past. Our policy analyses and recommendations are firmly anchored in our evidence base. Access our books on trading and deepen our analysis. Thirty-seven democracies in Europe, North America, the Pacific and Latin America form the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), founded in 1961 and headquartered in Paris. Today, OECD member countries account for 63% of global GDP, three-quarters of world trade, 95% of global official development assistance, more than half of global energy consumption and 18% of the world`s population. Many regional trade agreements (RTAs) contain environment-specific chapters and articles. However, Parties may choose to include more comprehensive environmental objectives in their RTAs in order to reflect their environmental concerns in these agreements. New obligations in international agreements could be considered to strengthen the capacity of supply chains to function during a crisis and to prevent the introduction of harmful measures. Such obligations could, inter alia, (i) limit trade and investment policy discretion with respect to essential goods; (ii) improving trade facilitation practices and regulatory cooperation; (iii) improving transparency; and (iv) establish mechanisms for consultation and cooperation in crisis situations. Such obligations would be in the interest of both exporters and importers to maintain confidence in their access to essential goods and to prevent uncooperative outcomes from leading to less resilient supply conditions. Trade tensions have continued to rise. Brexit is full of uncertainties and the COVID-19 pandemic has brought further turbulence with lockdowns and a radical shift in consumer demand. But this is exactly the time when the world needs to come together on trade, says Julia Nielson, Deputy Director of the OECD`s Trade and Agriculture Directorate.

The United States has long been interested in trade issues studied by the OECD. In the area of trade and trade policy, the OECD conducts meaningful research and provides a forum for OECD members to discuss complex and sometimes difficult issues. The OECD is also actively involved in studying the balance between national objectives and international trade. All our research and business analyses can be read online for free in the OECD iLibrary A series of annual updates were developed from 2007 to 2013 to track changes in environmental regulations in RTAs. A series of analytical reports will be published and will include “a checklist for negotiators”, an “assessment framework” and “trends and policy drivers” on environmental regulations in the ACR.La flagship publication “Environment and Regional Trade Agreements” in 2007 describes the state of the art in environmental regulation, sub-agreements and cooperation agreements related to RTAs. Since 2005, the OECD`s work on regional trade agreements and the environment has been carried out by the Joint Group on Trade and Environment (JWPTE). This work is also accompanied by regular workshops through several workshops for government officials and other experts on RTAs and the environment. Many governments are increasingly recognizing the need to ensure that trade and investment agreements reflect environmental concerns in order to achieve overall environmental objectives and increase public acceptance.

The report highlights available practices to ensure that investment provisions reaffirm the national environmental space. Policymakers recognize the need for regional trade agreements to be consistent with multilateral rules and the need to ensure coherence among regional agreements and between regional and multilateral systems. Some countries are even negotiating RTAs through the express intention of setting a precedent for the development of future multilateral rules, while others see deeper action in regional partnerships as a way to complement the multilateral system. In both cases, there are good practices for “supportive multilateral” practices that can help promote convergence. Recent work has focused on the role of regional trade agreements in promoting environmental awareness and integrating environmental objectives into negotiations, as well as resource efficiencies and sustainable materials management. Regional trade agreements (RTAs), which include bilateral and plurilateral trade agreements, free trade agreements, economic partnerships and other agreements aimed at liberalizing trade between countries, have increased significantly over the past decade. .