Reimagining Global Waste Management: The Intersection of WTO Discipline and Environmental Governance in the EU Waste Shipment Regulation

Document Type

Research Article

Abstract

EU’s revised Waste Shipment Regulation (WSR) 2024 provides a regulatory regime for the transboundary movement of wastes imported to, transiting or exported from the EU with a specific focus on its environmentally sound management. The revised regulation, inter alia, expands coverage by including non-hazardous waste for processing (in particular, scrap ferrous and non-ferrous metals) and discipline exports to nonmembers of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This paper views the regulation as a part of a series of developments which warrant an examination of the interplay between WTO disciplines and global environmental governance, especially against the possibility of the operation of trade measures in the guise of selective implementation of other international law treaties such as the Basel Convention. We argue that the revised regulation aims to implement a selective rendition of the Basel Convention, 1989, with a specific focus on its trade related aspects while impervious to developing states’ status and capability. This paper particularly focuses on the discriminatory elements of the regulation, its differential treatment, and operation as an export-restrictive measure. This paper also suggests potential ways to address a potential export prohibition that may emerge through these facets.

Publication Date

2025

Journal

Global Trade and Customs Journal

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