Environmental Views of the Seattle Ministerial
It is never easy for a diverse group of individuals to reach an agreement. Environmentalists are no exception to that rule.
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I. No WTO Expansion
The agenda for a round of WTO international trade negotiations can be initiated a few different ways. From an institutional WTO perspective, there's a mandated agenda, a so-called "built-in" agenda which is specified by the previous negotiation round. In the case of the Seattle Ministerial, the "built-in" agenda was designated at the end of the Uruguay round, the final GATT negotiations agreeing to the creation of the World Trade Organization.
The built-in agenda can be expanded or changed after the fact. The WTO, for example, holds bi-annual Ministerial Conferences that commonly conclude with agenda suggestions for the next general conference. Additionally, member states can individually proposed agenda items.
The environmental groups are proposing that no new agenda items be added to the next round of negotiations. First and foremost behind their thinking is that the types of institutional changes necessary for "greening the WTO" are not in place, and expanding the agenda, without institutional changes is counterproductive to their cause. They additionally oppose expanding the agenda for policy specific reasons. For example, there's a move by some member states to create a set of rules to liberalize or bring down barriers to investment throughout the world. Environmentalists believe a UN forum would be more suitable for this task, given its capacity to bring together all the groups involved in the issue.
II. Reform WTO Rules and Procedures
Assuming a limited agenda, environmentalists propose to mold a sustainable global trade regime from the inside out by changing the WTO's rules and procedures. The conflict between trade clauses in international environmental agreements and the WTO rules stands front and center, with environmentalists seeking some types of written agreement guaranteeing the rights of states to use trade sanctions as punitive measures for enforcing international treaties such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
In the long term, environmentalists seek WTO procedural changes. One such change would be for increased integration of environmental groups into WTO decision-making processes. With or without complete integration, environmentalists also call for "Improved Transparency" within WTO decision making networks. Transparency is one of the theoretical economic terms that found life outside the academy. Basically it means openness. The working of the WTO are highly secretive, Documents are difficult to obtain and the public is barred from observing activities such as dispute settlements. Environmentalists call for citizen or public access to the WTO.
III. Environmental Assessments
As of July 1999, environmentalists point out, the Clinton administration had failed to articulate the criteria it would use to assess the environmental friendliness of existing trade policy. They reason that an administration that identifies itself as "pro sustainable trade" needs to do its homework if they are to be an effective voice in Seattle.
NOTE: On November 16, 1999, just prior to the openining of the Seattle Ministerial, President Clinton signed an Executive Order assigning responsibility for the assessments to the US Trade Representative and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality.
© 1999 Patricia A. Michaels. All rights reserved.