Brazil Measures Affecting Imports of Retreaded Tyres (WT/DS 332) First Panel Hearing Initial Statement by Brazil Minister

r Marina Silva

Mr. Chairman and Distinguished Members of the Panel,

1. I would like to thank you for the opportunity to address this Panel about the importance of the cause defended by Brazil in this dispute concerning retreaded tyres.

2. The core issues at stake in this dispute are public health and the environment. The impact that the outcome of this dispute will have on Brazils ability to preserve those fundamental values cannot be overstated. It is for that reason that I appear before you today, not only in the capacity as Minister of the Environment, but also due to my personal commitment to the environmental cause. I am here to offer my personal testimony about the problems related to development and to environmental management in Brazil, as well as to reaffirm that the measures in force are essential to effectively deal with the many problems caused by the generation and accumulation of waste tyres.

3. My personal experience has allowed me to know closely the difficulties and needs of my country in various fields. The uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources has even greater effects in developing countries, like Brazil, because they lack sufficient means to use those resources and to promote, at the same time, adequate conditions for the life of its inhabitants.

4. For this reason, in the past three years, as Brazilian Minister of the Environment, I have worked relentlessly to promote sustainable development, with rational and responsible exploitation of natural resources, a fundamental element for the social and economical development combined with environmental protection. By way of illustration of such efforts, I can refer to the programs against deforestation of the Amazon Region (through which we have reached a reduction of 32% in the rate of deforestation of the Amazon Region in 2005) and the elaboration of the national plan for hydric resources, among many other measures that we have adopted in Brazil. These efforts give, thus, our domestic and international commitments a concrete meaning, despite the immense financial difficulties for their implementation.

Mr. Chairman,

5. Generation and accumulation of tyres is one of the worlds most pressing environmental problems. The large quantity of tyre waste generated every year and the difficulties related to collection, stockpiling and adequate environmental

disposal in a developing country with continental dimensions, impose on Brazil the need to adopt efficient measures for the responsible management nationwide.

6. In addition to the enormous environmental problem resulting of the risk of contamination of the air, soil and groundwater, the accumulation of tyres constitutes also a great threat to public health because it is directly related to the spreading of diseases, especially in a tropical environment. Just to give you an idea of the magnitude of the problem, 25 out of the 27 Brazilian States, and 65% of municipalities, have notified cases of dengue. According to a survey conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2003 in 1.140 municipalities, tyres were: The most important breeding place for dengue-carrying mosquitoes in 25% of them (284 municipalities); The second most important breeding place in 43% of them (491 municipalities); The third most important breeding place in 41% of them (465 municipalities).

7. Brazil does not dispute the importance of retreading tyres generated in the country. Retreading increases the lifespan of tyres and postpones their transformation into an environmental burden. We encourage the retreading industry and the research of waste disposal related technologies. However, our own country generates a considerable amount of tyres that are suitable for supplying the retreading industry. This confers a second life cycle to the product and reduces the environmental burden. The same does not occur in relation to imported retreaded tyres, because they are already in their last lifecycle.

8. The importation of used and retreaded tyres exacerbates the difficulties involved in the management of rubber waste. Thats why the import ban is a legitimate and necessary environmental measure, adopted not only by Brazil, but also by other countries.

9. The measures challenged by the EC are a key element in Brazils comprehensive program to protect public health and the environment from risks caused by waste tyres. However, Brazils efforts do not stop there. In addition to the import ban, Brazil has imposed significant disposal obligations on manufacturers and importers of new tyres, it has doubled its collection efforts, and it has actively promoted retreading of tyres consumed in Brazil.

10. The Brazilian measures are in conformity with universally recognized environmental principles, such as the principle of non-generation and the principle of proximity. The proximity principle provides that waste should be disposed of in the place where it is generated. Such principles are incorporated by the EU and by several countries to their respective environmental legislation. In keeping with this position, Brazil has been trying to improve its legal instruments in a consistent manner.

11. Furthermore, Brazil promotes the discussion of this topic in the appropriate international fora, such as the Basel Convention, the Committee on Trade and

Environment of the WTO. Many Members of the multilateral system, including the EC, have acknowledged the importance of preserving the environment and public health in several fora.

12. The Members of the EU have played a fundamental role in the adoption of policies to protect the environment and have inspired developing countries to move towards the improvement of their environmental legislation. EU Members were pioneers in the adoption of the environmental principles of polluter pays and generator pays, which have been adopted by developing countries, such as Brazil.

13. What is now expected from the EC is that it continues to play such an important and coherent role in the environmental arena.

Mr. Chairman,

14. In my capacity as Brazils Minister of the Environment, I would like to express my strong conviction that the prohibition of imports of retreaded tyres constitutes an environmental policy instrument needed to avoid the generation of wastes that Brazil cannot absorb.

15. While Brazil does not dispute the restrictive effects of the measures on trade, the multilateral system preserves the right of Members to protect the health of their

population and the environment. As agreed in initiatives such as the Declaration of TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, WTO Members must comply with the multilateral trade rules, while always assuring the protection of the fundamental values of any country, like human health and environment. The WTO has already confirmed that its rules can and shall be interpreted and applied as a means to contributing to the preservation of Members rights and in Brazils case, a constitutional obligation - to protect health and the environment. Trade among nations ought to be an ally in the promotion of the living conditions of the population.

Mr. Chairman,

16. I would like to thank you again for the opportunity to address the Panel. I trust that the statements of our Delegation will help clarifying the real dimension and scope of the challenges faced by Brazil in order to satisfactorily deal with the protection of human health and the environment.

Thank you very much.