Outcomes of the Resumed Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2) to Develop a New Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution

Countries were unable to reach consensus on the text of an agreement on plastic pollution during the resumed fifth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5.2), held in Geneva, Switzerland, August 5-14, 2025. Plastics play a critical role in every sector of every economy, including food packaging, medical devices, information technology, aerospace, and automobile production. The U.S. delegation pushed for common-sense and pragmatic approaches in the agreement that will reduce plastic pollution in our environment while also protecting American industries that rely on plastic to produce high-performance and cost-effective products used by Americans every day. The United States supports an agreement that allows countries to use tailored and cost-effective solutions that will work best in their country. We did not support prescriptive top-down regulatory approaches that will stifle innovation and drive consumer inflation across the U.S. economy and all over the world.