Pub Date : 2021-06-17DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198831341.003.0015
M. C. Segger
This chapter briefly discusses the observation that sustainable development is now firmly embedded in the World Trade Organization (WTO) legal regime, as an objective, but the implication for this commitment remains contested as WTO members have differing views on sustainable development. Beyond the recognition of the interpretive value as part of the ‘object and purpose’ of the WTO Agreements, there has been little progress to date at the global level in finding and agreeing on specific mechanisms by which integration of environmental and social development priorities might be secured at the WTO. There is also very little space for actual cooperation on trade-related aspects of environmental or development law and policy, addressing the second tension detailed in Sections 1 and 2, and there is as yet very little progress in enhancing trade in more sustainable goods and services, though Doha negotiations continue. The chapter also discusses how it is not yet clear, in the WTO, what specific provisions and measures could be enacted to use trade to actually support sustainable development, or what additional cooperation might be undertaken by the WTO on trade-related environmental concerns, or on trade-related social issues.
{"title":"The Limits of Addressing Sustainable Development in the WTO Regime","authors":"M. C. Segger","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198831341.003.0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198831341.003.0015","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter briefly discusses the observation that sustainable development is now firmly embedded in the World Trade Organization (WTO) legal regime, as an objective, but the implication for this commitment remains contested as WTO members have differing views on sustainable development. Beyond the recognition of the interpretive value as part of the ‘object and purpose’ of the WTO Agreements, there has been little progress to date at the global level in finding and agreeing on specific mechanisms by which integration of environmental and social development priorities might be secured at the WTO. There is also very little space for actual cooperation on trade-related aspects of environmental or development law and policy, addressing the second tension detailed in Sections 1 and 2, and there is as yet very little progress in enhancing trade in more sustainable goods and services, though Doha negotiations continue. The chapter also discusses how it is not yet clear, in the WTO, what specific provisions and measures could be enacted to use trade to actually support sustainable development, or what additional cooperation might be undertaken by the WTO on trade-related environmental concerns, or on trade-related social issues.","PeriodicalId":231279,"journal":{"name":"Crafting Trade and Investment Accords for Sustainable Development","volume":"99 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132086021","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-06-17DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780198831341.003.0018
M. C. Segger
Research undertaken for the volume found that changes in the way that trade and investment agreements are negotiated, as well as sustainable development-related innovations contained in the procedural rules of the trade and investment treaties, from an interactional view, have implications for the way the treaty texts integrate for sustainable development. This chapter discusses four procedural innovations which are being used by Parties to identify potential environmental and sustainability impacts, and to consider innovative measures for inclusion in their trade and investment agreements. First, it considers impact assessments of trade and investment liberalization policies and draft treaties, focusing on the origins and scope of impact assessment processes, their mandates and methodologies, their role in integrating social and environmental issues into economic trade policy and how they could be improved. Second, it considers consultations between economic, environmental and social development authorities as a mechanism to secure more integrated and coherent trade and investment policy-making. Third, the chapter discusses transparency and public participation mechanisms, in agreement negotiations and the agreements themselves. Finally, it explores innovative dispute settlement provisions.
{"title":"Procedural Innovations Related to Sustainable Development","authors":"M. C. Segger","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780198831341.003.0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198831341.003.0018","url":null,"abstract":"Research undertaken for the volume found that changes in the way that trade and investment agreements are negotiated, as well as sustainable development-related innovations contained in the procedural rules of the trade and investment treaties, from an interactional view, have implications for the way the treaty texts integrate for sustainable development. This chapter discusses four procedural innovations which are being used by Parties to identify potential environmental and sustainability impacts, and to consider innovative measures for inclusion in their trade and investment agreements. First, it considers impact assessments of trade and investment liberalization policies and draft treaties, focusing on the origins and scope of impact assessment processes, their mandates and methodologies, their role in integrating social and environmental issues into economic trade policy and how they could be improved. Second, it considers consultations between economic, environmental and social development authorities as a mechanism to secure more integrated and coherent trade and investment policy-making. Third, the chapter discusses transparency and public participation mechanisms, in agreement negotiations and the agreements themselves. Finally, it explores innovative dispute settlement provisions.","PeriodicalId":231279,"journal":{"name":"Crafting Trade and Investment Accords for Sustainable Development","volume":"51 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128010163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}