Press release 15 September 2008
Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Sweden proposes rapidly negotiated climate trade agreement

On Sunday 14 September, the EU trade ministers met in Brussels for their regular six-monthly policy dinner. Sweden's Minister for Trade, Ewa Björling, who was one of the evening's main speakers, sought in her address to gain support for a new, rapidly negotiated free trade agreement for climate- and environment-riendly goods, services and technologies - in the form of an Environmental Technology Agreement (ETA).

"I want negotiations on an agreement that facilitates trade in climate- and environment-friendly goods, services and technologies to begin as soon as possible. The aim should be to show concrete results as early as the climate summit in Copenhagen next autumn," said Minister for Trade Ewa Björling.

"Already at the end of last year at the big climate meeting in Bali, Sweden was one of those taking the initiative for a discussion about the link between trade and climate. I believe that the time is now ripe to go forward and discuss more stringent proposals on tariff reductions, abolishing quotas and common certification and labelling systems," said Dr Björling.

"Our earlier ambition was that the negotiations on a climate trade agreement should be held within the framework of the WTO Doha Round. Now that these talks are on hold, I believe that the link between trade and environment is such an important issue that we should detach it from the Doha Round and make it an independent issue," said Dr Björling.