The fourth symposium in the WCO Symposia Series, “Visualising a greener HS to support environmentally sustainable trade”, supported by the European Union, was held on 1 December 2022. The symposium addressed the role of the Harmonized System (HS) in reflecting the movement of trade towards a more circular economy, and how the relevant product characteristics could be identified at the border. The theme of this event was “Reflecting the lifecycle of the basic materials - plastics, metals, wood and other sustainable alternatives”.
The symposium was attended by a broad range of HS users, including representatives of international and regional institutions, the private sector, civil society associations and Customs administrations, who discussed needs and the role of the HS in this area.
In his opening address, Mr. Konstantinos Kaiopoulos, Director of the Tariff and Trade Affairs (TTA) Directorate at the World Customs Organization (WCO), said there was no doubt that the economy and consumption models we have grown accustomed to over the years have reached their limits. He was of the view that WCO instruments and tools, in particular the HS, must be adapted to environmental issues in order to contribute to ecological awakening. However, one of the issues arising in the HS with respect to the concept of the circular economy is that for most goods, the HS does not contain provisions for determining whether the materials are new or recycled, or whether or not the waste lends itself to recovery operations. He wondered how these characteristics might be identified at the border. He concluded by indicating that the aim of the fourth symposium was to offer a response to certain aspects of the question of how the HS can reflect the evolution of trade towards a more circular economy model.
Acting as moderator during the Panel Discussion, Ms. Gael Grooby, Deputy Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs at the WCO, explained in her opening remarks that the focus of the fourth symposium was the identification of materials at different stages of their lifecycle. She noted that this was a concept closely tied to the concepts of the circular economy and creating visibility for materials in a recycling loop. She called for input from experts, including on environmental policy and on the lifecycle use of basic materials, to help Customs administrations make proposals that would add significant value in terms of making it easier for governments to implement environmental policies aimed at developing the circular economy model and decreasing the environmental impact of trade and consumption.
The first speaker, Dr. Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Director of the Forum on Trade, Environment & the SDGs (TESS), spoke about “The HS and plastic pollution: Opportunities and options to improve transparency of trade flows across the life cycle of plastics”. She referred to the relevance of the HS in implementing policies to reduce plastic pollution and effective circular economy policies, recognizing the need to improve classification and the monitoring of trade flows relevant to plastic pollution and addressing the question of how Customs authorities can make a difference.
The second presentation, on “Circular economy statistics based on HS codes”, was delivered by Mr. Arturo de la Fuente, Head of EUROSTAT’s Unit E2, Environmental statistics and accounts, sustainable development, who presented statistical indicators of the circular economy in the EU based on HS codes, from which it was possible to derive environmental information and information on trade in waste and recyclable raw materials.
The third presentation, made by Ms. Iana Arkhipova and Ms. Ashley Steel from the Forestry Division of FAO, dealt with “The Lifecycle of Wood Products: Challenges and Opportunities in the Harmonized System”. They spoke about the way data are collected using the HS, circularity in the production of wood products, the changes to the classification of forest products in the 2022 version of the HS, trends in recovered products, and how specific classification can make a difference where wood products are concerned.
In his presentation, entitled “Plastic waste codes: reporting the transition to the circular economy”, Mr. Chaim Waibel, Public Affairs Manager of Plastics Recyclers Europe, explained how plastic recycling works and outlined the cross-border market in the EU. He suggested that the HS be made greener by increasing the granularity of codes to address the variety of polymer types encountered either in waste or in products. He proposed the introduction of traceability for plastic waste materials in order to achieve the circularity of plastic waste, using certification schemes and standards.
Mr. Ross Bartley, Trade and Environment Director of the Bureau of International Recycling, brought the individual presentations to a close with a presentation on “Recycled metals contribution to circular economy and climate change mitigation”. Mr. Bartley showed how world production of the most common metals was increasing, and addressed climate change mitigation (CO2 savings) through possible means of recycling. He proposed that new HS codes be introduced to align with the Basel Convention and to distinguish waste from scrap in the HS.
After thanking the speakers and participants, Ms. Gael Grooby encouraged ongoing discussion of these matters, and invited participants to reflect even more deeply on the approaches to be adopted with a view to creating a greener HS.