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9 - The Multilateralization of PTAs’ Environmental Clauses

Scenarios for the Future?

from Part II - Trade Policy and Trade-Related Concerns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 August 2019

By
Jean-Frédéric Morin ,
Clara Brandi  and
Axel Berger
Edited by
Manfred Elsig ,
Michael Hahn  and
Gabriele Spilker
Manfred Elsig
Affiliation:
Universität Bern, Switzerland
Michael Hahn
Affiliation:
Universität Bern, Switzerland
Gabriele Spilker
Affiliation:
Universität Salzburg
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Summary

Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) cover a much wider diversity of environmental clauses than World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. Which PTA environmental clauses could be multilateralized and included in the WTO rulebook? This chapter compares five different scenarios for the potential multilateralization of PTA environmental clauses: (1) The “routine scenario” combines the most frequent clauses, (2) the “consensual scenario” includes the clauses accepted by a high number of WTO members, (3) the “trendy scenario” includes the most popular clauses in recent times, (4) “the power-game scenario” combines the clauses that are jointly supported by the United States and the European Union, and (5) the “appropriate scenario” is a compilation of the clauses typically included in large membership agreements. This chapter compares and contrasts the implications of each scenario and identifies their common ground. Although each scenario represents an ideal type unlikely to materialize, the comparison offers insights into how the multilateral trading system could be developed to improve the integration of environmental concerns.

Keywords

WTOPTAsmultilateralizationenvironmental provisions
Type
Chapter
Information
The Shifting Landscape of Global Trade Governance
World Trade Forum
 , pp. 207 - 232
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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