Discussion Paper Prepared for the IFA meeting, Cuernavaca
February 4, 1999
The following topics are major environment and health items currently being debated in the run-up to the World Trade Organization ministerial.
Forestry
The United States government has proposed that a zero-tariff forestry and wood products agreement get completed for signing at the Ministerial meeting in November in Seattle. This agreement is designed to greatly accelerate the importing and exporting of logs and other timber products and would be counter to current efforts to both protect the forests as eco-systems and to control climate change.
Marine Conservation
A small group of nations has proposed that fishing issues become part of the WTO negotiations in November. At the same time, recent rulings by the WTO on the US Marine Mammal Protection Act, including the overturn of U.S. rules designed to protect dolphins and sea turtles, are likely to become the basis for more strict limits on the rights of countries, including the US, to use domestic laws to protect marine life.
Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
One result of the Uruguay Round agreement is a significant increase in the emission of climate changing gases due to increasing importing and exporting and due to the increasingly energy intensive production practices in agriculture and other sectors that have occurred as a result of the GATT/WTO. There are new proposals to alter WTO trade rules to encourage changes in the farming and food systems to reduce greenhouse gases emissions. In addition, many groups are calling for formal recognition by the WTO that Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), like the Montreal Protocol or the Convention on Biodiversity, cannot be compromised in any way by trade rules or trade practices.
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