Trump Administration memo urges countries not to accept plastic production caps under UN Treaty

According to memos and communications obtained by the, the United States sent letters to at most a few countries to urge them to reject a goal of a global treaty that included limits on plastic production as well as plastic chemical additives.

In communications dated July 25, which were circulated at the beginning of the negotiations on Monday to all countries, the U.S. outlined its red lines in negotiations. This puts it directly against over 100 countries who have supported these measures.

As delegates gather to discuss what was supposed to be the last round of negotiations, hopes for an ambitious global treaty have faded.

There are still significant differences between the oil-producing nations, who oppose limits on virgin plastic production, fueled by coal and petroleum, and parties like the European Union, small island states and others, who advocate for limits and stronger management of hazardous chemicals and plastic products.

The U.S. delegation was led by career State Department employees who represented the Biden Administration. They sent memos to other countries outlining their position, and stating that they will not accept a treaty which addresses plastic pollution upstream.

The memo was addressed to unnamed countries due to the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

NAIROBI MEETING

In a memo, the U.S. admitted that, after attending an initial heads of delegations meeting in Nairobi, from June 30 to 2 July, "we clearly do not see convergence in provisions related to supply of plastics, plastic production or plastic additives, as well as global bans and restriction on products and chemicals (also known by the global list).

The spokesperson for the State Department told each party to take appropriate measures in accordance with their national context.

The spokesperson stated that some countries may decide to ban certain products, while others might want to concentrate on improving collection and recycling.

John Hocevar is the Oceans Campaign Director at Greenpeace USA. He said that the U.S. delegation under Trump was a return to "old school bullying" by the U.S. government, which used its financial power to persuade governments to change their positions in a manner that benefited what the U.S. wanted.

One diplomatic source, from a country that supports an ambitious treaty, said the treaty was a good example of how to preserve the multilateral framework in a global context with many challenges.

They said: "Multilateralism can either become the lowest common denominator and we will only be able to progress on less ambitious things or we can show that we have a global framework for important issues."

In a resolution that was seen by the.

Sources familiar with the talks told the newspaper that the U.S. was seeking to rollback language that had already been agreed upon in 2022, to renegotiate a new mandate for the Treaty.

"Refusing plastic production to be included in this treaty does not represent a negotiation position." Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, the head of Panama's delegation, said that it was economic self-sabotage.

They are blocking the progress of their industry. "They are keeping their people from the next wave in prosperity."

The U.S. position is broadly in line with that of the global petrochemicals sector, which had stated similar positions before the talks and several powerful oil and chemical producing countries who have maintained this position during the entire negotiation.

Over 100 countries support a global cap on plastic production.

The Trump administration in the U.S. has taken numerous measures to

Roll back climate and environmental policy

It says that industry is burdened with too many obligations.

According to the OECD, plastic production will triple without intervention by 2060, choking oceans and harming human health, as well as accelerating climate changes. (Reporting from Washington by Valerie Volcovici and Olivia Le Poidevin, and editing by Ed Osmond & Nick Zieminski.)

(source: Reuters)