§ Mr. DenhamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what specific contributions the United Kingdom has made to discussions in the OECD joint sessions of trade and environment experts; what further contributions are planned; and what plans exist for the issue of guidelines on the use of trade and environment policies.
§ Mr. Needham[holding answer 9 March 1993]: The United Kingdom participates actively in the work of the OECD trade and environment group, in close collaboration with the European Commission and other EC member states. The Government attach high priority to the development of criteria, including possible OECD guidelines, to govern the proper use of trade measures for environmental purposes. The Government are therefore committed to bringing this work to a positive conclusion as soon as possible. It is not yet possible, however, to say when guidelines might be issued.
As this work has developed, the United Kingdom has tabled a number of informal analytical papers dealing with detailed technical questions.