GENEVA: The United States, China, the European Union and 11 other members of the World Trade Organization have begun negotiations toward a new agreement on almost $1 trillion of environmental goods.
The negotiations launched Tuesday in Geneva covers 86 percent of the global trade in environmental goods such as solar panels and gas and wind turbines for producing energy, filters and ultraviolet disinfection equipment for wastewater treatment and soot removers and catalytic converters for air pollution control.
The negotiations also include Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, and Chinese Taipei.
US Trade Representative Michael Froman said Tuesday a new agreement would eliminate tariffs of up to 35 percent on dozens of items and fulfill a key part of President Barack Obama's climate-change agenda.
