U.S. Backs Global Treaty to Curb New Plastic Production

The United States will support a global treaty aimed at reducing new plastic production annually, marking a shift from its earlier stance of leaving such decisions to individual countries. This change opposes the views of countries like Saudi Arabia and China, which prefer focusing on recycling and packaging design.

The United States, one of the world's biggest plastic makers, will support a global treaty calling for a reduction in how much new plastic is produced each year – a major shift from its earlier calls to leave such decisions up to each country, a source close to US negotiators told Reuters on Wednesday.

The change puts the U.S. in direct opposition to countries like Saudi Arabia and China. They have argued that the hoped-for UN treaty, which negotiators are scheduled to conclude at a November summit in Busan, South Korea, should ignore questions of production and focus on downstream measures such as encouraging recycling and changing packaging design.

(With inputs from agencies.)