TOPIC: Trade and Environment: The WTO Regime

Abstract.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade1 was opened for the invitation of signatures of
willing member states on 30th October 1947, with the final entry into force being in January
1948. The present day counterpart of this body is the World Trade Organization (WTO). The
establishment of a uniform international regulatory regime of commercial conduct was the
guiding objective at the time of the drafting of the GATT. The issue of trade and its interplay
with the environment was never a component of the initial rounds of the GATT. 2 An equally
notable body, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources3
was formed in 1947.

Contemporaneous with the genesis of an international body to regulate trade was a shift in the
international legal consciousness to establish a body to regulate the environment. Thus, even in
the absence of direct talks on concomitant issues, the probability of such trade regulating body
being called in for the protection of the environment was clearly plausible. The allegation that
the GATT was formed in an era where environmental consciousness did not exist is a farce.4

1
Hereinafter referred to as the GATT.

2
However, it has to be noted that a number of important environmental treaties were being created during the phase
of these discussions. The following are some of the most notable conventions adopted during this time:
CONVENTION FOR THE REGULATION OF MESHES IN FISHING NETS, 1946; INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE
REGULATION OF WHALING, 1946; INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE NORTHWEST ATLANTIC FISHERIES, 1949;
CONVENTION FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TROPICAL TUNA COMMISSION, 1949; INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
FOR THE PROTECTION OF BIRDS, 1950.

3
Hereinafter referred to as the IUCN.

4
Steve Charnovitz, The World Trade Organisation and the Environment, (1998) 8 YIEL 98. Also see Gary
Sampson & John Whalley eds., THE WTO, TRADE & ENVIRONMENT, Williston, Elgar, 2005.
The chance of this probability did later on proceed to a realisation in the present age with
measures being included in the GATT5. The realization that there existed an extremely relevant
and important impact of international trade practices upon the environment thus came to be. This
paper shall first seek to trace historically how the WTO evolved measures to safeguard the
environment, while the second part of this paper will attempt an analysis of the environmental
protection measures enshrined in the WTO as it stands today. This analysis will be supported by
the adoption of relevant case law which has emerged from the decisions of the Dispute
Settlement Body.

5
Exceptions contained under Article XX (b), (d), (g) & the Chapeau.
Research Methodology

Aims and objectives

The project aims at studying the issues associated with the trade and the environment debate. The
researcher would like to begin this paper with the genesis of the issue of trade and environment
and examine the inter-relation between trade, environment and the WTO. The Paper would
further try to examine the relationship between certain Multilateral Environmental Agreements
(MEAs) and the WTO Agreements. The Researcher would also like to analyse how
environmental provisions have permeated into the multilateral trading system, through the
incorporation of environmental provisions under new WTO agreements and the concern of the
developing countries with regard to the MEAs

The Project would cover the basic conceptual issues, as well as the genesis of trade and
environment as it has been dealt with in the WTO. The ultimate objective is to understand the
justification for policy linkages between trade and the environment and the rationale for special
trade rules to reflect environmental concerns.

Method of writing

The researcher has endeavored to use a combination of descriptive and analytical styles of
writing throughout this project. More emphasis has been placed on the analytical style of writing.

Sources of Data

The main sources have been textbooks, articles and web-search.