Regulating Health and Environmental Risks Under WTO Law

Regulating Health and Environmental Risks Under WTO Law PDF Author: Lukasz Gruszczynski
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0199578923
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 327

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Book Description
The central problem that this book tackles is whether the system established by the SPS Agreement can address the existing and potential challenges of a new interdependent world. It provides a critical examination of the substantive provisions of the agreement and corresponding case law.

The Politics of Precaution

The Politics of Precaution PDF Author: David Vogel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400842565
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 332

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Book Description
The Politics of Precaution examines the politics of consumer and environmental risk regulation in the United States and Europe over the last five decades, explaining why America and Europe have often regulated a wide range of similar risks differently. It finds that between 1960 and 1990, American health, safety, and environmental regulations were more stringent, risk averse, comprehensive, and innovative than those adopted in Europe. But since around 1990, the book shows, global regulatory leadership has shifted to Europe. What explains this striking reversal? David Vogel takes an in-depth, comparative look at European and American policies toward a range of consumer and environmental risks, including vehicle air pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, beef and milk hormones, genetically modified agriculture, antibiotics in animal feed, pesticides, cosmetic safety, and hazardous substances in electronic products. He traces how concerns over such risks--and pressure on political leaders to do something about them--have risen among the European public but declined among Americans. Vogel explores how policymakers in Europe have grown supportive of more stringent regulations while those in the United States have become sharply polarized along partisan lines. And as European policymakers have grown more willing to regulate risks on precautionary grounds, increasingly skeptical American policymakers have called for higher levels of scientific certainty before imposing additional regulatory controls on business.

The Economics of Quarantine and the SPS Agreement

The Economics of Quarantine and the SPS Agreement PDF Author: Kym Anderson
Publisher: University of Adelaide Press
ISBN: 1922064327
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 432

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Book Description
The Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, culminating in the GATT Secretariat being transformed into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 1 January 1995, has altered forever the process of quarantine policymaking by national governments. On the one hand, WTO member countries retain the right to protect the life and health of their people, plants and animals from the risks of hazards such as pests and diseases arising from the importation of goods. On the other hand, the WTO's Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) requires that quarantine measures be determined in a manner that is transparent, consistent, scientifically based, and the least trade-restrictive. This collection resulted from an international workshop funded and organised by Biosecurity Australia, the agency of government responsible for analysing Australia's quarantine import risks and for negotiating multilateral SPS rules and less restrictive access to overseas markets for Australian produce. The workshop, which was held at the Melbourne Business School on 24-25 October 2000, brought together a distinguished group of applied economists and quarantine policy analysts whose focus involves regions as disparate as Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and New Zealand, in addition to Australia.

Research Handbook on Environment, Health and the WTO

Research Handbook on Environment, Health and the WTO PDF Author: Geert van Calster
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1781006148
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 881

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Book Description
ÔThis edited collection brings together an impressive array of authors from the world of international trade, the environment and public health. Each of them is eminently well-placed to bring their own particular expertise to bear on the issue at hand, and to do so in a knowledgeable and stimulating manner. This Research Handbook is a must for anyone interested in these overlapping fields of law and policy whether as a basis for learning or as a resource for further research.Õ Ð Mary Footer, University of Nottingham School of Law, UK ÔThis fantastic collection of essays explores the multiple intersections between trade and environment in the WTO. The contributions by leading scholars are theoretically engaged whilst practical in their focus. It is a Òmust readÓ for those concerned to ensure that trade liberalisation does not stand in the way of sustainable development, including urgently needed action to mitigate the risks and consequences of climate change.Õ Ð Joanne Scott, University College London, UK ÔGeert Van Calster and Denise PrŽvost have managed to induce virtually all the great experts on health, environment and WTO law to contribute to their Research Handbook on these subjects. The result is undoubtedly an excellent volume that should adorn the bookcase of any and all interested in the important problem of the relation between international rule-making and regulatory autonomy of states in this area of international economic law.Õ Ð Pieter Jan Kuijper, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands This Handbook provides state-of-the-art analysis by leading authors on the links between the international trade regime and health and environment concerns Ð concerns that make up an increasing proportion of WTO dispute settlement. Research Handbook on Environment, Health and the WTO surveys fields as diverse as climate change mitigation, non-communicable diseases, nanotechnology and public health care. The volume brings to the fore the debates and complexities surrounding these issues and their implications for the international trading system. The Handbook begins in Part I with a survey of general issues that sets a context for the more specific sectorial studies. Part II considers the most pressing issues within health regulation and trade law, whilst Part III is devoted to environmental regulation and its interface with trade law. Part IV looks specifically at aspects of the dispute settlement process and in particular standard of review, and the book concludes in Part V with a consideration of the impact of trade measures on the health and environment regimes of emerging economies. This comprehensive yet concise Handbook will appeal to academics and researchers in international trade law and environmental law, as well as trade law practitioners.

International Food Law

International Food Law PDF Author: Cinzia Caporale
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 940351812X
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
estation, habitat destruction and zoonoses; food naming and labelling; and food risk management. Throughout there is reference to an abundance of legislation, treaties, conventions, and case law at domestic, regional, and international levels, with particular attention to European, US, and World Trade Organization law and the work of the FAO. The book clearly demonstrates the necessity for reform of the global system of food production in the direction of a more sustainable and environment-friendly model. In its authoritative discussion of the relations among fields of law that are rarely discussed together – food law and the environment, food law and human rights, food law and animal welfare – this collection of chapters will prove a valuable resource both for officials working in food governance and security and for lawyers and scholars concerned with environmental management, sustainable development, and human rights around the world.

Principles of International Economic Law

Principles of International Economic Law PDF Author: Matthias Herdegen
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191651532
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 628

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Book Description
Principles of International Economic Law gives a comprehensive overview of the central topics in international economic law, with an emphasis on the interplay between the different economic and political interests on both the international and domestic levels. The book sets the classic topics of international economic law, WTO law, investment protection, commercial law, and monetary law in context with human rights, environmental protection, good governance, and the needs of developing countries. It thus provides a concise picture of the current architecture of international economic law. Topics covered range from codes of conduct for multinational enterprises, to the human rights implications of the exploitation of natural resources. The book demonstrates the economic foundations and economic implications of legal frameworks. It puts into profile the often complex relationship between, on the one hand, international standards on liberalization and economic rationality and, on the other, state sovereignty and national preferences. It describes the new forms of economic cooperation which have developed in recent decades, such as the growing number of transnational companies in the private sector, and forms of cooperation between states such as the G8 or G20. Providing a perfect introductory text to the field of international economic law, the book thoroughly analyses legal developments within their wider political, economic, or social context.

Incorporating Science, Economics, and Sociology in Developing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards in International Trade

Incorporating Science, Economics, and Sociology in Developing Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards in International Trade PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309070902
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
The rapid expansion of international trade has brought to the fore issues of conflicting national regulations in the area of plant, animal, and human health. These problems include the concern that regulations designed to protect health can also be used for protection of domestic producers against international competition. At a time when progressive tariff reform has opened up markets and facilitated trade, in part responding to consumer demands for access to a wide choice of products and services at reasonable prices, closer scrutiny of regulatory measures has become increasingly important. At the same time, there are clear differences among countries and cultures as to the types of risk citizens are willing to accept. The activities of this conference were based on the premise that risk analyses (i.e., risk assessment, management, and communication) are not exclusively the domain of the biological and natural sciences; the social sciences play a prominent role in describing how people in different contexts perceive and respond to risks. Any effort to manage sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues in international trade must integrate all the sciences to develop practices for risk assessment, management, and communication that recognize international diversity in culture, experience, and institutions. Uniform international standards can help, but no such norms are likely to be acceptable to all countries. Political and administrative structures also differ, causing differences in approaches and outcomes even when basic aims are compatible. Clearly there is considerable room for confusion and mistrust. The issue is how to balance the individual regulatory needs and approaches of countries with the goal of promoting freer trade. This issue arises not only for SPS standards but also in regard to regulations that affect other areas such as environmental quality, working conditions, and the exercise of intellectual property rights. This conference focused on these issues in the specific area of SPS measures. This area includes provisions to protect plant and animal health and life and, more generally, the environment, and regulations that protect humans from foodborne risks. The Society for Risk Analysis defines a risk as the potential for realization of unwanted, adverse consequences to human life, health, property, or the environment; estimation of risk is usually based on the expected value of the conditional probability of the event occurring times the consequence of the event given that it has occurred. The task of this conference and of this report was to elucidate the place of science, culture, politics, and economics in the design and implementation of SPS measures and in their international management. The goal was to explore the critical roles and the limitations of the biological and natural sciences and the social sciences, such as economics, sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and political science in the management of SPS issues and in judging whether particular SPS measures create unacceptable barriers to international trade. The conference's objective also was to consider the elements that would compose a multidisciplinary analytical framework for SPS decision making and needs for future research.

Food Safety, Market Organization, Trade and Development

Food Safety, Market Organization, Trade and Development PDF Author: Abdelhakim Hammoudi
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319152270
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
This book provides an economic perspective on the effects of food safety standards on international trade. Focusing on food safety regulation at an international level and private food safety standards, the authors use contemporary methodologies to analyze supply chain structures and organization as well as food-chain actors’ strategies. They also evaluate the effects of these on both consumer health and developing countries’ access to international markets. The book provides ideas, suggestions and policy recommendations for reconciling economic interests with consumer health, which will be of special interest to academics as well as to practitioners.

Balancing between Trade and Risk

Balancing between Trade and Risk PDF Author: Marjolein B. A. van Asselt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136272569
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 298

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Book Description
The trade aspects of risk and the risk aspects of trade deserve more systematic and genuine interdisciplinary attention if we are to really understand the global, international and supranational dimensions of risk regulation. This book brings together legal and social science research on risk regulation from across the world to explore risk regulation in a trade context. The interdisciplinary collaboration provided in this book is needed to address the trade versus risk balancing act both in empirical and theoretical terms. Although it is obvious that legal, social, cultural and political matters interfere with risk regulation, analyses in which these interferences are adequately considered are lacking. In one way or another, all chapters in this book address the issue of scientific uncertainty, the governance arrangements around expertise or both. Issues such as transparency, trust, legitimacy and precaution also become particularly important given the political, multi-actor and multi-level governance characteristics of the balancing act between trade and risk regulation. This book highlights and examines these concerns, going on to provide a critical assessment of the EU regulation of trade and risk both from external and internal perspectives. This book’s exploration of the balancing act between trade and risk regulation will be increasingly important to students of law and social sciences as they move to a shared, interdisciplinary understanding.

Conflicting Philosophies and International Trade Law

Conflicting Philosophies and International Trade Law PDF Author: Michael Burkard
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319610678
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
This book reveals how conflicting worldviews are at the root of public controversies on policy and trade issues. It highlights the particularly controversial disputes at the level of the World Trade Organization in the case of regulating beef-hormones and GMOs, aiming to show how negotiators of international agreements, members of dispute settlement bodies, and policy makers in general could have recourse to concepts of other disciplines such as epistemology and philosophy in order to address deadlocked legal disputes. Ultimately, the book is a manifesto for independent and critical research.