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Scottish Government Single Use Plastics Regulations notification to the World Trade Organisation

Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport to the Convener, 3 September 2021

Dear Dean

I am writing to advise you that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been notified of the intention of the Scottish Government to ban some of the most problematic single-use plastic products.

As you are aware, the Scottish Government is committed to matching or exceeding the standards set out by the EU Single-Use Plastics Directive and published the draft single-use plastic regulations for comment earlier this year in March.

The Scottish Government has committed to making and laying the regulations before the Scottish Parliament before the end of the year.

The proposed regulations will enable the Scottish Government to meet the commitment in the 2021 SNP manifesto to take action to ban single-use plastic cutlery (forks, knives, spoons, stirrers and chopsticks), plates, straws, balloon sticks and expanded polystyrene food and beverage containers and cups for beverages.

The 2019/20 Programme for Government (PfG) included the commitment to meet or exceed the standards set out in the European Union’s Single-use Plastics Directive and, following the ban on plastic cotton buds and microbeads, to take further action by banning more problematic single-use plastic items, such as cutlery, plates and food and drink containers. It is our intention that the regulations will also specify exemptions for balloon sticks and importantly also for single-use plastic straws in order to ensure accessibility for disabled people.

The Scottish Government is legally bound to a number of commitments on trade and investment as a result of the United Kingdom’s WTO membership, including the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement. The draft regulations require to be notified to the WTO under the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement before they are made, to allow other WTO members opportunity to comment.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to inform you that the WTO has been notified of the proposed regulations and the notification is now live. Please see Annex 1 for a copy of the notification. WTO members have 60 days to comment. Once the WTO notification period has ended, and any comments considered, I intend to make and lay the regulations before the Scottish Parliament.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Matheson

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