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Trade and Environment

118 posts

A Tar Sands Project in the U.S.

Tar sands oil production has been a big deal in the EU-Canada FTA negotiations. This AP story has me thinking that NAFTA might be dragged in to this issue: Beneath the lush, green hills of eastern Utah's Uinta Basin, where elk, bear and bison outnumber people, the soil

GATT Article XX and Domestic Production of Environmental Goods

From an article (subscription only) describing the Columbia panel discussion mentioned here: China could plead environmental necessity to win a dispute over its wind industry subsidies, a case now moving through the World Trade Organization, one legal expert suggests. Provisions under Chinese law mandating that nearly all wind power equipment

More on Banning Plastic Bags

In the comments, Chris Wold, a law prof at Lewis and Clark law school in Oregon who specializes in trade and environment issues, adds some details about the proposed ban on plastic bags in Oregon: the bill may look discriminatory to a panel: no plastic bags are made in Oregon

Balancing Trade and the Environment

From a European Commission press release: On Monday 24 January, the Korean Ministry of Environment made a public announcement of a number of adjustments that will be introduced in a new regulation on car CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency. These follow consultations launched by the Korean Government on a draft

Trade in Everything: Electronic Waste

From CBS News: Up to 1.2 million second-hand TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners were estimated to have entered the Philippines between 2001 and 2005, and according to a study by Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Philippine Board of Investment, 60-70 percent of it all came from

The U.S. Investigation of China's Clean Energy Subsidies

Reuters reports: China on Saturday hit back at U.S. government action to investigate a labour union's charges that it subsidises its green technology producers, saying the move sends a wrong signal on trade protectionism. The U.S. probe will look into whether Chinese support for its clean

The Clean Energy Subsidy Wars Begin

When I saw this NY Times article the other day, I thought, it's just a matter of time before there are some big trade cases on clean energy subsidies: Until very recently, Hunan Province was known mainly for lip-searing spicy food, smoggy cities and destitute pig farmers. Mao

More on EU Biofuels Regulation

From SSRN, this is the abstract of "EU Biofuels Policy – Raising the Question of WTO Compatibility," by Stephanie Switzer and Joe McMahon: This article examines the question of the compatibility of the new EU Biofuels regime with the disciplines established by the WTO. After an explanation of the

Indonesia, Biofuels and the WTO

As the Clove Cigarettes WTO dispute (DS406) moves forward, Indonesia is likely to gain a lot of experience relating to de facto discrimination claims, GATT Article XX defenses and the TBT Agreement. Can they use this experience to bring a claim against EU biofuel restrictions? Writing in the Jakarta Globe,

Trade in Natural Resources: The Bluefin Tuna Ban under the TBT Agreement

In the spirit of the discussion of trade in natural resources that Melaku has been leading, I thought I would do a post on a very technical aspect of the proposed trade ban on bluefin tuna, which may soon be imposed pursuant to the United Nations' Convention on International