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Environmental Law, Policy and Governance Program
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Module III: Environmental Dimensions of International Trade
Objective: To consider environmental dimensions of key issues in trade.
Overview: This module will show how specific environmental issues are shaped by trade law. A number of issues will be considered, including: the relationship between market access and environmental conditions; the relationship between exploitation of comparative advantage and a so-called race-to-the-bottom with respect to environmental management practices; the relationship between subsidies and natural resource depletion; the relationship between intellectual property rights, productive technologies, and biodiversity; and the relationship between increased investment and environmental matters. The topics of this module will be illustrated by available case law in each subject matter.
Lecturers: María Amparo Albán , Cesar Parga
Presentations: Market Access, Property Rights
Topics covered in this module include:
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Market access
o Environmental standards and competitiveness
o Processes and production methods (PPMs)
o Eco-labeling and environmental certification programs
o Government procurement
o Environmental goods and services
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Regulation of agriculture
o Reduction of trade barriers and the environment
o Subsidies: environmental costs and benefits
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Intellectual property rights
o Technological innovation
o Biodiversity and natural resources
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Investment and sustainable development
Required Readings:
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New European Union Commission's Proposal on Novel Foods Regulations (UNCTAD, 2013), A preliminary overview from the perspective of biodiversity-based and traditional foods..
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Market Access and Environmental Requirements, Trade and Environment at the WTO, The World Trade Organization (2004), pp. 14-21.
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Read, Robert, Process and Production Methods and the Regulation of International Trade, The WTO & the Regulation of International Trade: Recent Trade Disputes Between the European Union & United States, N. Perdikis & R. Read (eds.) (2005), Chapter 11, pp. 239-266.
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Opening Markets for Environmental Goods and Services. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), Policy Brief (2005).
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Sell, Malena, Agriculture, Trade and Environment—A Resource Book, A. Najim, M. Halle and R. Meléndez-Ortiz (eds.), International Institute for Sustainable Development, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Regional and International Networking Group (2007), Section II, Chapter 1, pp. 29-37.
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Tarasofsky, Richard, Report on Trade, Environment, and Intellectual Property Rights, Concerted Action on Trade and Environment, European Commission (2005).
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Peterson, Luke Eric, Investment, Trade and Environment—A Resource Book, A. Najim, M. Halle and R. Meléndez-Ortiz (eds.), International Institute for Sustainable Development, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Regional and International Networking Group (2007), Section II, Chapter 12, pp. 135-144.
Suggested Readings:
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Trade and Environment in the Multilateral Trading System, TrainForTrade, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Module 2 (2000).
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Cosbey, Aaron, Trade-related environmental standards: make them better, meet them better, but don’t bother complaining, Lessons Learned on Trade and Sustainable Development: Distilling Six Years of Research from the Trade Knowledge Network, International Institute for Sustainable Development (2004), Chapter 3, pp. 13-24.
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Bienes y Servicios Ambientales en América Central, Cuba y la República Domínicana, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (2006).
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Bernasconi-Osterwalder, Nathalie, Linsey Sherman and Mahesh Sugathan, Environmental Goods and Non-agricultural Market Access, Trade and Environment—A Resource Book, A. Najim, M. Halle and R. Meléndez-Ortiz (eds.), International Institute for Sustainable Development, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and the Regional and International Networking Group, (2007), Section II, Chapter 6, pp. 77-85.
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Pearce, David, Environmentally Harmful Subsidies: Barriers to Sustainable Development, paper presented at: Workshop on Environmentally Harmful Subsidies, Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (2002).
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Cosbey, Aaron, The Road to Hell? Investor Protections in NAFTA’s Chapter 11, International Investment for Sustainable Development, L. Zarsky (ed.), Earthscan (2005), Chapter 6, pp. 150-171.