Title: Trade Liberalization and Environmental Protection:The Role of the WTO
Abstract: Since 1970s,the environmental issue has gradually obtained importance in trade discussion.Trade liberalization and environmental protection have become more and more interlinked because of the eye-catching development of the international trade and its effect on the serious environmental degradation.As the only one international biding organization regulating trade,the WTO,inevitably,has come into the spot light.A clear reference to the importance of sustainable development lies in the preamble of the WTO and a new Committee on Trade and Environment(CTE)was established.However,the role of the WTO in this issue is still hotly debated.Liberalists hold that the WTO,as a trade-regulating body,has gone too far in the environmental protection;whilst environmentalists claim that the WTO has gone not far enough in environmental issue.This paper attempts to analyze the role of the WTO in the complicated linkage between trade liberalization and environmental protection.It unfolds into four main parts.After a brief introduction to the problem addressed in this paper lies the theoretical framework.Then the role of the WTO is analyzed.Finally it arrives at the conclusion that only under certain circumstances can the WTO play an active role in making trade liberalization and environmental protection mutually supportive.
Publication Year: 2010
Publication Date: 2010-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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