Article written by Environment Minister Marina Silva on 1 June 2006.

In January this year the European Union initiated a controversial dispute with Brazil in the WTO due to the Brazilian government’s prohibition of imports of used tyres.

Old, unusable tyres now constitute a global environmental problem but are especially problematic in many developing countries, where they frequently gather stagnant rainwater, become repositories for mosquito larvae, and thereby contribute to the proliferation of mosquito-borne diseases such as the potentially fatal dengue fever – which the World Health Organization now considers foremost among emergent tropical diseases.

Used tyres are difficult to collect and, due to their size, create storage problems. Discarded tyres take hundreds of years to decompose, and their incineration releases toxic gases that contaminate soil, air and water. There is as yet no means of disposing of them that is both environmentally friendly and economically viable.

It is precisely for these reasons that Brazil has specific legislation prohibiting the entry of retreaded tyres into the country.

There is no doubt that the retreading of tyres increases their useful life, and thus forms part of our "3 Rs" approach towards the management of tyres: reduce, reuse and recycle. However, since tyres can only be retreaded once, the entry of retreaded tyres into Brazil would clearly lead to an increase in environmental waste – and prohibiting their importation is the only means of preventing them from accumulating beyond the minimum necessary to meet our needs.

Many other countries are also adopting increasingly restrictive measures to deal with the negative consequences brought about by unusable tyres. From this month onwards, for example, the European Union will prohibit the disposal of used tyres in sanitary landfill sites.

And yet, in its dispute with Brazil, the EU fails to recognize the public-health and environmental issues underlying Brazil's position. It claims Brazil's approach derives merely from commercial interests, and characterizes it as a restriction on free trade.

We firmly believe the restrictions we have imposed are justified by Article XX (b) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), as they are necessary for the protection of public health and the environment.

Our stance is in line not only with our existing domestic regulations but also with multilateral commitments on this particular issue, such as the Rio Declaration adopted at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992.

Furthermore, several multilateral environmental agreements – such as the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants – actually require that signatory countries adopt such protective measures.

It is estimated that the number of discarded tyres in both the US and the European Union is between 2 and 3 billion. Approximately 300 million new tyres are produced each year in the EU alone.

As European consumers have a strong preference for new tyres, the EU countries are increasingly seeking new markets for their used and retreaded tyres, putting pressure on developing countries to open their markets to them.

The EU countries have been playing a crucial and inspirational role in implementing progressive environmental policies. They have been forerunners in the adoption of the principles of pollutant-payer and extended producer responsibility, which are now being incorporated in developing countries such as Brazil.

With regard to the current dispute, we therefore hope the EU will adopt a position that is consistent with its wider vision, and in harmony with the efforts of the Brazilian government to protect public health and the environment.