Trade and Sustainable Development...

As economic and market integration – propelled by trade, investment and other links – continues, the OAS is working to better align environmental protection with economic development.  One example involves supporting an environmental cooperation agenda that helps countries anticipate health and environmental issues and standards associated with market access. A related effort is to identify those areas in which member countries have a comparative advantage in environmental goods and services.  Work is underway in the sustainable tourism, organic agriculture, and sustainable fisheries to identify “win-win” trade and environmental outcomes.   

The OAS has supported member States through different trade capacity building processes in their bilateral trade negotiations and has provided technical assistance for developing their national capacity building strategies for the Hemispheric Cooperation Program (HCP) of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).  In support of the priorities established by member States in the mentioned processes, the OAS has programmed a series of activities and projects in the area of trade and environment in the Western Hemisphere.

Featured Publications and Resources

Comparative Guide to the Chile-United States Free Trade Agreement and the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement. A Study by the Tripartite Committee: Chapter 19, Environment.

DR-CAFTA: Challenges and Opportunities for Central America. A Report by the World Bank.

Our Programs in this area...

Recent Initiatives...

Lecture Series of the Americas: Jeffrey Sachs speaks on new Approaches to Economic Directions and Development in Latin America. Listen to Lecture

DSD and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) convened technical workshop on “Supporting Environmental Management through Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Forestry and Sustainable Tourism" in preparation for First Inter-American Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development, to be held in Bolivia in August 2006. More...

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and OAS- DSD will host Global Forum on Trade on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building for Trade and the Environment in San José, Costa Rica, 3 and 4 November 2005.

More ...

Click to see other initiatives...