This study is a commendable attempt to find empirical support for the commonly held belief that trade liberalisation leading to economic growth damages the environment. Unfortunately, in the later chapters the author's enthusiasm leads him to make some ill-advised recommendations that are not entirely consistent with his own hard-won empirical results. So what begins as an even-handed assessment of an emotionally charged topic finishes with some familiar proposals on 'global governance' for the environment. The role of economics in the trade-environment nexus and in reconciling choices in policy formulation takes second place to the appeal of popular environmentalism. Like others before him, the author tries to find environmental exemptions from trade rules in the GATT articles. But in 1947-48, when the GATT was constructed from the commercial chapter of the ITO (Havana Charter), the sole concern was to restore commercial relations and economic stability in face of spreading Soviet communism. After years of massive destruction, protecting the environment did not feature in the drafting of GATT article XX. The trade-environment conflict was a phenomenon of the Uruguay Round, although the issue had been raised fleetingly early in the 1970s. The tuna-dolphin and turtle-shrimp disputes (Chapter 3) were caused by US unilateralism, contrary to GATT principles on national treatment and non-discrimination. The outcries arose because the GATT rules were unacceptable to environmentalists. On the other hand, several members of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body criticised the Appellate Body's decision in the turtle-shrimp case because it contradicted accepted procedures. The Committee on Trade and Environment, established by the Uruguay Round final act, has served to emphasise differences among member countries and has done little to resolve them. Similarly, the portrayal of the GATT as successful in trade liberalisation without considering its weaknesses -- failing to liberalise agricultural trade and allowing non-tariff barriers to be used against developing countries -- has aggravated environmental damage.
展开▼
