Environmental Update Main Responsible Trade Main Trade Agreements Trade Reports World Trade Organization Solutions Campaigns Take Action News Factsheets Links & Resources     Search the Trade pages Archives Environmental news, green living tips, and ways to take action: Subscribe to the Sierra Club Insider!

When Bad Things Happen to Good Laws How International Trade Pacts Threaten California's Environmental Laws Read the full report (1 MB pdf file) International trade agreements like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have already been used to trump national environmental priorities. The U.S. Clean Air Act regulations were weakened after Latin American petroleum-producing countries successfully challenged them at the WTO in 1995. U.S. laws to promote dolphin-safe tuna fishing, protect sea turtles from shrimpers, reduce auto emissions, and prevent destructive invasive species from entering the U.S. amid other imported goods have been similarly challenged or threatened at the WTO. California has been at the forefront of efforts to protect communities from air and water pollution, toxic waste, and other environmental threats, but international trade rules have been used to challenge them. To date, much of the concern over the impact free trade agreements have had on the environment has focused on how these trade deals have limited national governments’ rights to set environmental priorities. But trade agreements negotiated by the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) can have significant implications over state law as well. There has been increasing awareness that not only are U.S. national environmental laws under attack at international trade forums, but state and local environmental laws and safeguards are also potentially at risk under global trade rules. The prospect of California’s environmental laws and regulations being second-guessed by trade tribunals threatens three decades of democratic efforts to make California’s environmental oversight responsive to the needs of the state’s ecology and people. Read the full report (1 MB pdf file) Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club