scholarly journals Trade and the Environment: Greening of the WTO

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Stella Kasoulides Paulson
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Member States ◽  
Trade And The Environment ◽  
The World ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
Failure To Protect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Trade Measures

<p>The World Trade Organisation has often been demonised for its negative effect on the environment. Environmentalists have chastised the WTO for a failure to protect the environment against the impact of globalised trade. In December 1999 activists marched the Ministerial Conference in Seattle to protest what they saw as the WTO’s preference for free trade at the expense of the environment. They blocked the entrances to the WTO meeting and prevented delegates from attending discussions, ultimately killing the Round of negotiations. Still today the WTO is notorious in environmental circles and has ‘become a watchword for injustice and environmental ignorance.’ One of the, if not the, main reason for this opposition to the WTO is the WTO’s, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade’s, past treatment of tradeenvironment cases. The Tuna-Dolphin and Shrimp-Turtle cases drew the attention of environmental activists around the world, who saw the decisions of the dispute settlement bodies, which ruled against environmental trade measures, as evidence that the WTO and GATT desire ever-liberalised trade at any cost. The purpose of this paper is to reveal how the WTO has in fact greened over time, and that those who continue to condemn the WTO without reservation have failed to recognise changes in the WTO which signal that the door has been opened to environmental trade measures. This paper does not purport to claim that the GATT has always been an environmentally friendly institution, but rather that significant changes have occurred which warrant a shift in public attitude. The purpose of encouraging that change in public perception is not simply to relieve the WTO of criticism. Rather, the goal of this paper rests on the idea that only once the international community has acknowledged the greening of the WTO, will Member states truly be able to implement trade-related environmental measures that do not contravene the GATT and therefore are left un-contested and free to achieve their environmental aims. If better attention is given to the current jurisprudence, Member states could follow carefully laid out criteria to create effective and acceptable trade-related environmental measures. Part II of this paper provides important background information about the environment-trade debate, the WTO, trade-liberalisation and the significant relationship between trade and the environment. Part III then sets the scene by describing some of the predictions that were made about the potential treatment of the environment by the WTO. Part IV will then describe the key trading principles of the GATT and the environmental exceptions to those principles. Part V highlights several institutional and organization developments which have occurred and which signify a greening of the GATT/WTO arena. Most importantly, Part VI outlines several significant developments in WTO jurisprudence to demonstrate its new sophistication and the resultant greening of the dispute settlement process. Finally Part VII discusses the greening of the WTO in the setting of an environmentally conscious world.</p>

scholarly journals Trade and the Environment: Greening of the WTO

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Stella Kasoulides Paulson
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Member States ◽  
Trade And The Environment ◽  
The World ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
Failure To Protect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Trade Measures

<p>The World Trade Organisation has often been demonised for its negative effect on the environment. Environmentalists have chastised the WTO for a failure to protect the environment against the impact of globalised trade. In December 1999 activists marched the Ministerial Conference in Seattle to protest what they saw as the WTO’s preference for free trade at the expense of the environment. They blocked the entrances to the WTO meeting and prevented delegates from attending discussions, ultimately killing the Round of negotiations. Still today the WTO is notorious in environmental circles and has ‘become a watchword for injustice and environmental ignorance.’ One of the, if not the, main reason for this opposition to the WTO is the WTO’s, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade’s, past treatment of tradeenvironment cases. The Tuna-Dolphin and Shrimp-Turtle cases drew the attention of environmental activists around the world, who saw the decisions of the dispute settlement bodies, which ruled against environmental trade measures, as evidence that the WTO and GATT desire ever-liberalised trade at any cost. The purpose of this paper is to reveal how the WTO has in fact greened over time, and that those who continue to condemn the WTO without reservation have failed to recognise changes in the WTO which signal that the door has been opened to environmental trade measures. This paper does not purport to claim that the GATT has always been an environmentally friendly institution, but rather that significant changes have occurred which warrant a shift in public attitude. The purpose of encouraging that change in public perception is not simply to relieve the WTO of criticism. Rather, the goal of this paper rests on the idea that only once the international community has acknowledged the greening of the WTO, will Member states truly be able to implement trade-related environmental measures that do not contravene the GATT and therefore are left un-contested and free to achieve their environmental aims. If better attention is given to the current jurisprudence, Member states could follow carefully laid out criteria to create effective and acceptable trade-related environmental measures. Part II of this paper provides important background information about the environment-trade debate, the WTO, trade-liberalisation and the significant relationship between trade and the environment. Part III then sets the scene by describing some of the predictions that were made about the potential treatment of the environment by the WTO. Part IV will then describe the key trading principles of the GATT and the environmental exceptions to those principles. Part V highlights several institutional and organization developments which have occurred and which signify a greening of the GATT/WTO arena. Most importantly, Part VI outlines several significant developments in WTO jurisprudence to demonstrate its new sophistication and the resultant greening of the dispute settlement process. Finally Part VII discusses the greening of the WTO in the setting of an environmentally conscious world.</p>

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts, culture, and heritage sectors in the African Union member states

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 477-480
Author(s):  
Angela Martins ◽  
Vicensia Shule
Keyword(s):  
Union Member ◽  
African Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

Africa as a continent has been hit by the coronavirus – the COVID-19 pandemic – as have many parts of the world. Many African Union (AU) member states were badly hit by the virus, while others were only mildly impacted. The arts, culture, and heritage sectors have been severely hit by the pandemic. Fortunately, in many countries in Africa, arts, culture, and heritage were placed at the heart of strategic priorities at the national, regional, and continental levels of combating COVID-19.

Developments and perspectives of health literacy in Europe

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Sørensen ◽  
Helmut Brand
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The World ◽  
European Health ◽  
A Priority ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract A decade ago the European health literacy field was in its infancy. A comparable study among EU Member States was made to explore if health literacy was as much as a concern in Europe as elsewhere in the world. This article analyses the impact of the European Health Literacy project (2009–2012). Based on the outcomes new avenues for health literacy in Europe are proposed. In spite of progress there is still a strong call for actions to make health literacy a priority in the EU.

Protection of the Marine Environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-211
Author(s):  
Margaret A. Young
Keyword(s):  
Marine Environment ◽  
Marine Protected Areas ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Marine Litter ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
General Obligation ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Trade Measures

Abstract The general obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment is contained in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Increasingly, marine issues are addressed in regional or multilateral trade agreements, including the covered agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article examines selected legal developments, such as provisions in regional trade agreements on marine capture fisheries, marine litter and waste management infrastructure. Rules on the use of trade measures to eliminate harmful fishing practices, and the prohibition of certain subsidies, are also explored. The article calls for attention to the impact of these developments on dispute settlement between states under UNCLOS, support for marine protected areas, and the capacity for regime interaction between relevant bodies. These issues have relevance for the conservation of marine living resources as well as other issues relating to the protection of the marine environment, including marine plastics and climate change.

Substance and Style—How the WTO Adjudicators Legitimize their Decisions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Gerstetter
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Judicial Decision ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Member States ◽  
Judicial Decisions ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
The World ◽  
Dispute Settlement System

This chapter analyses how the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement bodies legitimize their decisions and by implication also the WTO Dispute Settlement System as well as the WTO as an institution more broadly. The author argues there are two relevant dimensions for understanding how judges legitimize judicial decisions: the substantive outcomes of cases, that is who wins and loses and what interpretations are adopted, and the way a judicial decision is justified. She concludes that the WTO dispute settlement bodies act strategically in order to win the acceptance of the member states, and ultimately legitimize this dispute settlement system as a judicial entity.

Principles of International Law in The WTO Dispute Settlement Body

2001 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Cameron ◽  
Kevin R. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
International Law ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Member States ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
The World

Unlike the original 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and trade (GATT), the 1994 Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement)1 covers a much wider range of trade. It extends beyond goods and now embraces services, intellectual property, procurement, investment and agriculture. Moreover, the new trade regime is no longer a collection of ad hoc agreements, Panel reports and understandings of the parties. All trade obligations are subsumed under the umbrella of the WTO, of which all parties are members. Member States have to accept the obligations contained in all the WTO covered agreements: they cannot pick and choose.

Animal welfare measures and the WTO Post-EC - seal products case: a renewed debate and research agenda.

2020 ◽  
pp. 156-172
Author(s):  
Carolina Maciel ◽  
Bettina Bock
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Trade Restrictions ◽  
The World ◽  
Welfare Measures ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
Trade Measures

Abstract For nearly 20 years trade officials and scholars debated whether a national measure restricting trade on the basis of animal welfare concerns could be deemed compliant with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In June 2014, the dispute settlement body of the WTO adopted the decision on the EC - Seal Products case confirming that trade-restrictive measures aimed at safeguarding the welfare of animals can be deemed necessary to protect citizens' moral concerns. While this decision provides long-awaited answers and insights, it does not exhaust the debate on the obstacles for justifying animal welfare trade restrictions. This paper provides an overview of controversies surrounding the topic of animal welfare from a WTO perspective and a brief review of the findings from the EC - Seal Products case. In addition, this chapter calls for further research on potential controversies that may rise in relation to trade measures in contexts beyond seal hunting; like, for instance, regulatory divergences over farm animal welfare measures. In doing so, it recommends that future research pays special attention to the potential controversies associated with the use of animal welfare recommendations elaborated by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) (OIE, 2019).

Diplomacy and the Settlement of International Trade Disputes

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1358-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Gray ◽  
Philip Potter
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
The World ◽  
The Impact

How do countries settle disputes in the shadow of the law? Even in the presence of legalized dispute settlement, countries still rely on diplomatic channels to resolve conflicts. But it can be difficult to assess diplomacy’s impact on dispute resolution because those channels tend to be opaque. We present both an original theory of the impact of diplomacy on dispute resolution and a novel measure of diplomacy. If countries with close or, conversely, distant relationships use legal channels for dispute resolution, diplomacy will have little impact on dispute settlement; resorting to legal recourse among friends or adversaries likely means that the dispute is intractable. However, diplomacy can increase the chances of settlement between countries with moderate levels of affinity. We test this argument using a protocol-based proxy for diplomatic interactions—gifts given at the occasion of meetings between diplomatic counterparts—that would otherwise be difficult to observe. Using the case of the United States and its disputes in the World Trade Organization, we find support for our argument. This suggests that even when countries resort to legalized methods of dispute settlement, bilateral dealmaking still plays an important role.

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