CETA Trade and Sustainable Development Committee – IN PROGRESS Joint Work Plan 2022-2023

• Gender-disaggregated data and analysis of gender-focused statistics related to trade;
• Ex-post impact of CETA on women and gender equality;
• Developing gender responsive trade agreements;
• Trade and gender in the WTO.

• Canadian business women trade missions to the EU in fall 2018 and winter 2020. Completed.
• Trade and Gender presentations by Canada and the EU at: the CETA Civil Society Forum and CETA Joint Committee on Trade and Sustainable Development (Ottawa, Nov. 2019, virtually December 2020, February 2022); Panel discussion Brussels, April 2019; Roundtable July 2019, Montreal. Completed
• Canada and EU participation in the WE EMPOWER and UN Women webinars on “The Impact of Trade Agreements on Women’s Economic Empowerment” (Dec. 2018 and Dec. 2019). Published joint report on Trade and Gender activities to date (September 2020). Completed
• Canada-EU webinar on trade and gender and standards (March 12, 2021). Completed.

Explore the possibility of applying a gender lens to all CETA committee work (reviewing the work plans of each committee and identifying opportunities to integrate gender considerations).

Continue Canada-EU video conferences/webinars to exchange information on a variety of related as outlined in the EU-Canada work plan for implementing CETA Trade and Gender recommendation.

1. Clean technologies
2. Carbon pricing
3. Border carbon adjustments (BCAs), including on the proposed EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
4. Climate adaptation
5. Continued cooperation on trade and climate at the WTO (e.g. Carbon Border Adjustments, EU Trade and Climate initiative proposal)

• The Clean Tech workshop took place on 29-31 March. Completed.
• the CETA Clean Tech Summit.

• Organize a virtual workshop on carbon pricing and BCAs/CBAM (10 March 2022). Completed

• Ongoing and dependent on international meetings and events such as WTO Committee on Trade and Environment, and the WTO Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD)

• Planning of the CETA Clean Tech Summit (Fall 2022 – TBC)
• Working together to expand the use of carbon pricing globally
• Monitoring of developments on BCAs/CBAM and organizing further technical exchanges to understand considerations and impacts
• Sharing experience and best practices on developing and implementing a climate adaptation strategy - Consider organizing an expert exchange on climate adaptation
• WTO Committee on Trade and Environment meeting.
• TESSD meetings.

• Look at forward planning on the CSR/RBC commitment.

Next steps:

Explore collaboration opportunities in approaching countries and companies to encourage good labour and environmental practices.

Share experience and best practices to address forced labour and child labour. (cross-cutting with the trade and labour cooperation)

• Explore collaboration opportunities in approaching countries and companies to encourage good labour and environmental practices.

• Respective CSR contact points to exchange contacts and compare notes.

• Canada to share best practices (handbook for SMEs on OECD Guidelines) and GCNC compendium on how Canadian companies can contribute to the SDGs.

• Chemicals management
• Plastics pollution and circular economy
• Sustainable products

• Sharing experience and best practices on:
  • enhancing supply chain transparency for chemicals in products
  • integrating green chemistry principles across industries and policy frameworks
  • initiatives and methodology to determine the environmental footprint of products
  • initiatives on sustainable products
• Supporting collaboration on plastics pollution through various initiatives, including the Canada-EU Action on Plastic Waste project and the Ocean Plastics Charter.
• Contributing to the development of a new global agreement on plastics in support of the global shift to a circular economy.

• Consider organizing expert exchanges to share information and best practices on:
  • enhancing supply chain transparency for chemicals in products;
  • integrating green chemistry principles across industries and policy frameworks;
  • environmental footprint of products; and
  • sustainable products
• Participate in the Advisory Committee of the Canada-EU Action on Plastic Waste project and related events.
• Participate in the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (February 2022).

• Share EU and Canada's respective actions on labour in selected third countries (unilateral, bilateral and multilateral) to identify next steps and coordinate where appropriate.
• Canada and EU to address impact of COVID-19 on labour rights and workers around the world, and to brainstorm potential collaborative responses to protect vulnerable workers.
• Canada and EU to provide updates on ILO projects and technical assistance work in third countries, so that Parties can see where priorities align and find synergies in practical operations.

• Completed: EU and Canada have shared respective labour initiatives and engagements in third countries.
• Completed: Canada and the EU discussed need for international cooperation and measures to mitigate socio-economic impact of COVID-19 in least developed countries. Agreed on the need to focus on inequalities in supply chains.
• Completed: Canada and the EU have discussed various ways of tackling forced labour and child labour, as well as the continued importance of promoting freedom of association and collective bargaining.

• Discuss further areas of cooperation in third countries to promote decent work.
• Continue to participate in multilateral fora (such as the UN, G20, G7 and ILO) to work towards a global recovery.
• Compare notes on the respective domestic initiatives related to forced labour, including in third countries.
• Share experience and best practices to combat forced labour and child labour.