Free Trade Agreements and the Environment: Some Implications to Taiwan

Abstract

The debate between free traders and environmentalists concerning the relationship between trade liberalisation and environmental protection has been a long-standing and continuing one. Numerous studies have indicated both positive and negative impact on the environment as a result of trade liberalisation. Environmental advocates arc particularly concerned with how international trade rules undermine governments’ ability to regulate and enforce domestic as well as international environmental regulations. On the international front, campaign to change international trade mica focuses on the 'greening' of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World Trade Organisation (GATT/WTO). From the environmentalists' perspective, the 1991 US trade dispute with Mexico concerning the importation of tuna under the then GATT regime was the living proof of how international trade rules have weakened government's ability to enforce its domestic environmental law. In the current Doha negotiation round under the auspices of the WTO, negotiations on trade and environment has been incorporated within the negotiation mandate under the Doha Ministerial Declaration, which indicates the increasing importance of balancing trade and environment interests under the international trading regime. This article will briefly introduce some of the trade and environment issues in the GATT/WTO regime.