Abstracts for the Trade Mondays Seminar

WTO, Trade and the Environment

Monday, 6 December 2004, 14.00-16.30
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Main Auditorium, Pakhuset, Ground Floor
Strandgade 71, 1401 Copenhagen K

Mark Halle is currently Director of the European office of IISD. The bulk of his responsibilities resides in the Trade Program, where much of his work centres on IISD’s Trade Knowledge Network and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD). Previously, he was with IUCN - The World Conservation Union, most recently (1994-1998) as Director of Global Policy and Partnerships.
Trade and the Environment
In his presentation, Mark Halle provides a historical analysis of the development of environmental concerns in the international trade regime, with some focus on the state of environmental negotiations in the Doha Development Round. He also examines future options for dealing with environmental issues in and out of the WTO.

Laura Nielsen, Candidata Juris, LLM, Phd Fellow at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. Phd dissertation: ‘WTO, the environment and animals: Policies in GATT Article XX (a), (b) & (g)’. Teaching WTO and EU/WTO Agriculture at the the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen.
The Doha mandate and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
This presentation provides an introduction to the legal issues related to the Doha mandate on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). It touches upon the overall question of whether the mandate is in any manner beneficial to environmental concerns or whether status quo may be preferable. The presentation includes an outline of conflict of laws, the interpretation of GATT Article XX, and an analysis of the approach to MEAs in WTO case law.

Kevin Gallagher is a Professor in the Department of International Relations at Boston University and Research Associate at the Global Development and Environment Institute, Tufts University. His recent books are 'Free Trade and the Environment: Mexico, NAFTA, and Beyond' and 'International Trade and Sustainable Development'. In 2005, Zed books of London will publish a volume he is editing entitled 'Putting Development First: The Importance of Policy Space in the WTO and IFIs'.
Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in Mexico: Lessons for the WTO
This presentation examines the impact that economic integration has on the environment, focusing on Mexico. Mexico transformed itself from one of the world’s most closed economies to one of the most open. Its experience offers a cautionary tale for governments and policy-makers considering the hotly debated relationship between globalization and the environment. The presentation investigates two commonly held and opposing beliefs in the policy community about the impact of free trade on the environment. While some argue that free trade will raise incomes in developing countries, thus encouraging governments to protect the environment, others argue that free trade simply provides an incentive for heavily-polluting firms to move to developing countries with lax environmental regulations. Gallagher will show that for Mexico neither position is correct, and will conclude with a set of concrete recommendations for policies that couple environmental protection with economic integration under the WTO.