Abstract
Sustainable development (SD) is one of the objectives of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and in order to achieve SD, the precautionary principle (PP) is one of the most appropriate means that can be used. This study aims to explore whether the WTO promotes SD through its legal interpretation of the PP and to provide suggestions for realizing the balance between trade liberalization and sustainable development in the WTO. To this end, this study conducts a case analysis on the Korea-Import Bans, and Testing and Certification Requirements for Radionuclides (DS495) dispute from legal and political-economic perspectives, and finds that the WTO’s rigorous examinations of the four requirements presented in Article 5.7 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement) remain a significant impediment for the incorporation of the PP into WTO jurisprudence, and can also cause systemic problems. This study suggests that efforts from three dimensions—the WTO adjudicating parties, the government, and the lobbying groups of importing countries—are required to promote SD in the WTO.
Highlights
The preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization highlights sustainable development (SD) as one of its far-reaching objectives running through all multilateral trade agreements [1]; in order to achieve SD, the precautionary principle (PP), which is regarded as a “prerequisite” or “key foundation” for SD, is one of the most appropriate means that can be used [2,3,4]
In the World Trade Organization (WTO)’s multilateral trade agreements, there are no explicit mentions of the word “precaution”, aside from an indirect equivalence in Article 5.7 of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which allows for the adoption of provisional sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures in the case of insufficient scientific evidence
This study aims to explore whether the WTO promotes SD through its legal interpretations of the PP and to provide recommendations for realizing the balance between trade liberalization and sustainable development in the WTO
Summary
The preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization highlights sustainable development (SD) as one of its far-reaching objectives running through all multilateral trade agreements [1]; in order to achieve SD, the precautionary principle (PP), which is regarded as a “prerequisite” or “key foundation” for SD, is one of the most appropriate means that can be used [2,3,4]. Other researchers have stated that the PP is neither recognized as a general principle in international law nor a binding policy guideline, due to the legal weakness of the PP in world trade law [10,11,12,13]. This study aims to explore whether the WTO promotes SD through its legal interpretations of the PP and to provide recommendations for realizing the balance between trade liberalization and sustainable development in the WTO. To this end, this article proceeds as follows: Chapter 2 illustrates the incorporation of the SD and PP in environmental laws as well as their rationales in world trade law.
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