Trade, Environmental Regulations, and the World Trade Organization

Trade, Environmental Regulations, and the World Trade Organization PDF Author: Matthias Busse
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Environmental law
Languages : en
Pages : 30

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Trade and Environment Governance at the World Trade Organization Committee on Trade and Environment

Trade and Environment Governance at the World Trade Organization Committee on Trade and Environment PDF Author: Manuel Teehankee
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9403522046
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 401

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Book Description
In the opinion of many, the most crucial issue confronting the world today lies in achieving a sustainable nexus among global trade, economic development, and the environment. This book, written by a prominent diplomat with extensive direct experience in this field, presents a much-needed critical perspective on the conflict of norms among the three policy regimes, focusing on the dilemma of reconciling approaches regarding harmonized global governance and a more diverse community-based approach. It is the first and only in-depth treatment to systematically study a series of deliberations in the World Trade Organization’s Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), highlighting perspectives taken by both developed and developing economies. The book demonstrates that the CTE’s contributions to the evolving trade and environment policy framework have been, contrary to popular perception, both substantial and relevant. In his review of how the particular characteristics of twenty key work outputs of the CTE impact current practice in trade and environment policy discussions, the author discusses such key issues and topics as the following: a singular harmonized global governance framework versus the centrifugal force of community-based, localized or regional solutions that emphasize diversity and multifaceted institution building; drawbacks and continuing relevance of the CTE Work Agenda; issues related to carbon, intellectual property rights, and services; market access for environmental goods; requirements for environmental purposes relating to products, including standards and technical regulations, packaging, labeling, and recycling; and ways forward for combining global regimes with local solutions in an environmental context. Given the urgent need for making economic policies more coherent with sustainability and environmental goals, and for overcoming the ongoing stalemate between developed and developing countries on this matter, this book is sure to be warmly welcomed by policy makers and negotiators in the areas of both trade and environment, as well as by academics, theorists, and experts in the field of global governance interested in formulating practical approaches to trade and environment governance and minimizing potential policy conflicts.

Trade, Environmental Regulations and the World Trade Organization

Trade, Environmental Regulations and the World Trade Organization PDF Author: Matthias Busse
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The paper empirically explores the linkages between environmental regulations and international trade flows. So far, empirical studies either have failed to find any close statistical relationship or have delivered questionable results due to data limitations. Using a comprehensive new database for environmental regulations across countries, a thorough empirical investigation of that linkage for 119 countries and five high-polluting industries is performed. No evidence is found to support the pollution hypothesis that industries facing above-average abatement costs with environmental regulations would prefer pollution havens and relocate their activities. The exception is iron and steel products, where a negative and statistically significant link is established, implying that higher compliance with international treaties and conventions and more stringent regulations are associated with reduced net exports. High-income countries, where environmental regulations are usually more stringent in comparison to middle or low income countries, have experienced a considerable decline in the export-import ratio of iron and steel products since the late 1970s. There is no clear evidence that national governments choose sub-optimal policies that result in insufficient regulations, so the case for environmental standards within the WTO framework is relatively weak.

The Greening of Trade Law

The Greening of Trade Law PDF Author: Richard H. Steinberg
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742510463
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
In this first book to systematically compare how each of the world's major international trade organizations have handled environmental issues, leading specialists provide a balanced analysis of the development of trade and the environment rules in the World Trade Organization, the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Free Trade Area of the Americas, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, the International Organization for Standardization, and other key organizations. Deftly combining policy and theory, the authors offer a range of heuristics and normative orientations in an effort to understand one of the globe's most contentious and timely dilemmas. Visit our website for sample chapters!

Trade Investment and the Environment

Trade Investment and the Environment PDF Author: Halina Ward
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134192738
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
A discussion on the future of trade, investment and the environment. It sets out the trade, investment and environment agenda in the run-up to the Millennium Round of trade negotiations. Topics covered include: building markets for sustainable trade; environmental regulation; finance and transnational corporations; environmental regulation and international investment; and conflict resolution in the World Trade Organization. The contributors include Renato Ruggiero (WTO Director General), Brian Wilson MP (UK Trade Minister), and John Gummer MP (former UK Secretary of State for the Environment).

Environmental Goods and Services

Environmental Goods and Services PDF Author: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Publisher: OECD
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
To what extent are there trade impediments to the transfer and adoption of environmental goods and services? How can these be addressed by global trade negotiations? What is the role of complementary measures in order to ensure "win-win" benefits -- that is promoting both environmental protection and economic growth? And how can developing countries also benefit to ensure a triple -- "win-win-win" -- situation? This book addresses these questions. A key conclusion of the research is the need for policy settings to address both supply and demand-side factors. Indeed supply-side factors, including a diverse and cumulative range of trade barriers are more significant inhibitors of the deployment of technology and service-based solutions to global environmental challenges than has been assumed heretofore. As a new round of services trade negotiations gathers momentum at the World Trade Organisation, and efforts continue to launch a broader WTO Round encompassing tariff negotiations, it is hoped this volume makes a timely contribution to debate on how trade liberalisation can yield concrete results on the journey to sustainable development.

Dirty Exports and Environmental Regulation

Dirty Exports and Environmental Regulation PDF Author: John S. Wilson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
How to address the link between environmental regulation and trade was an important part of discussions at the World Trade Organization Ministerial in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. Trade ministers agreed to launch negotiations on trade and the environment, specifically clarification of WTO rules. The authors address an important part of the background context for deciding whether or how to link trade agreements to the environment from a developing country perspective. The authors ask whether environmental regulations affect exports of pollution-intensive or "dirty" goods in 24 countries between 1994 and 1998. Based on a Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) model, net exports in five pollution-intensive industries are regressed on factor endowments and measures of environmental standards (legislation in force). The results suggest that, if country heterogeneity such as enforcement of environmental regulations is controlled for, more stringent environmental standards imply lower net exports of metal mining, nonferrous metals, iron, and steel and chemicals. The authors find find that a trade agreement on a common environmental standard will cost a non-OECD country substantially more than an OECD country. Developing countries will, on average, reduce exports of the five pollution-intensive products by 0.37 percent of GNP. This represents 11 percent of annual exports of these products from the 24 studied countries.

Environmental Sovereignty And the WTO

Environmental Sovereignty And the WTO PDF Author: Bradly J. Condon
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 1571053662
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 365

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Book Description
The growing body of WTO jurisprudence is of profound significance for the development of the general body of international law. With this in mind, Environmental Sovereignty and the WTO succinctly examines how the WTO law can contribute to achieving coherence between general international law, international environmental law and international trade law and avoid conflicts between trade liberalization and global environmental protection. Professor Condon argues that these three branches of law are generally consistent with each other in the area of international law where they intersect. However, WTO jurisprudence can benefit from a more explicit analysis, provided here, of the way that panel decisions fit into the general framework of international law. No law reforms are currently needed to facilitate this task. As the text shows, it is a matter of using the current WTO rules to resolve conflicts between treaties such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and to determine the circumstances in which unilateral trade measures should be permitted. The topics addressed in Environmental Sovereignty and the WTO will be of considerable interest to a broad audience given the global political controversy over American unilateralism, the fairness of WTO rules to poor countries, and the effect of trade rules on efforts to protect the global environment. However, the book addresses these controversial issues without sacrificing academic rigour and will appeal to a scholarly and professional audience seeking new approaches to addressing the problems raised by the globalization of law. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.

The World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization PDF Author: Mitsuo Matsushita
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199571856
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 942

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Book Description
This is a comprehensive overview of the law and practice of the World Trade Organization. It begins with the institutional law of the WTO, moving eventually to the consequences of globalization. New chapters on Trade in Agriculture and on Government Procurement and Trade.

Trade and Environment

Trade and Environment PDF Author: Duncan Brack
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134187971
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 269

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Book Description
Can trade liberalization and environmental protection be pursued together, or do the two objectives inevitably conflict? The rapid evolution of international regimes and institutions is increasingly bringing such conflicts to the fore. A consensus, both on the extent of the clash, and on how it can be resolved, does not yet exist. This volume includes the proceedings from the RIIA's April 1997 conference on trade and the environment, which brought together prominent contributors from all sides of the debate, including industry, governments, academics, NG0s and intergovernmental institutions such as the World Trade Organization, UNEP, UNCTAD and the OECD. They examine the background to the issue; the impacts of trade-related environmental measures; the relationship between environmental policy, competitiveness and investment; industry and developing country concerns; and the evolution of dispute settlement procedures in the EU and the WTO. The concluding chapter features a wide-ranging discussion on the future of the debate and of the WTO's Committee on Trade and Environment.