WTO Puts Out New Study Report on Trade and Environment
10/21/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: WTO Puts Out New Study Report on Trade and Environment
Source: Global Forest Policy Project, Washington, D.C.
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 21, 1999
Byline: Anny Wong
My apologies if you are receiving multiple copies of this memo.
Please pass it on to others whom you know may share an interest in
this matter.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) released a new Trade and
Environment Report on October 14, 1999. A summary of the main
findings is available at the WTO web site at
http://www.wto.org/wto/new/press140.htm (The full document, in PDF
format, may also be downloaded at this site.)
In the words of the WTO press release.
"..The report argues that there is no basis for the sweeping
generalizations that are often heard in the public debate, arguing
that trade is either good for the environment, or bad for the
environment. The real world linkages are a little of both, or a shade
of grey. `Win-win' outcomes can be assured through well designed
policies in both trade and environmental fields."
And Mike Moore, WTO Director-General, had this to say, "This report
underscores that trade and environment need not be contradictory but
can indeed by complementary."
Finally, here are a few of the main findings of this report:
Most environmental problems result from polluting production
processes, certain kinds of consumption, and the disposal of waste
products -
* trade as such is rarely the root cause of environmental
degradation,
except for the pollution associated with transportation of goods;
* trade would unambiguously raise welfare if proper environmental
policies were in place;
* not all environmental standards should necessarily be harmonized
across countries;
* the competitiveness effects of environmental regulations are minor
for most countries; and
* not all kinds of economic growth are equally benign for the
environment;