Report
- +1
Dr. Demetrios Papademetriou, Mr. John Audley, Ms. Sandra Polaski, …
{
"authors": [
"Scott Vaughan"
],
"type": "other",
"centerAffiliationAll": "",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "",
"programs": [],
"projects": [],
"regions": [],
"topics": [
"Economy",
"Trade",
"Climate Change"
]
}
REQUIRED IMAGE
Other
Trade Preferences and Environmental Goods
Published on Feb 19, 2003
Source: Carnegie
For the World Trade Organization (WTO), the most important development in a decade related to trade-environment linkages is the agreement to liberalize commerce in environmental goods and services. If properly executed, the agreement will increase the availability of "green" goods in global markets and break the North-South deadlock that has paralyzed discussion on the trade regime governing such goods.
However, WTO members appear to be limiting negotiations to capital-intensive environmental technologies and engineering services, for which developed countries enjoy a comparative advantage. These goods account for the largest part of the $525 billion spent annually on the environmental sector worldwide. However, they are neither the sole nor most visible part of environmental markets. Green consumer goods - from energy-efficient lighting to recycled products - together with resource-based products, including organic produce and sustainable forest and fisheries products, need to come within the purview of WTO negotiations.
Click on link above for full text of this TED Policy Brief.
A limited number of print copies are available.
Request a copy
About the Author
Scott Vaughan is visiting scholar with the Carnegie Endowment. He previously held positions with the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, the World Trade Organization, the United Nations Environment Program, the Royal Bank Financial Group (Canada), and the Canadian federal minister of the environment.
The Trade, Equity, and Development (TED) Series is part of an effort by Carnegie's Trade, Equity, and Development Project to broaden the debate surrounding trade liberalization to include perspectives not normally present in the Washington policy community.
Also in the TED series:
Controlling Corruption: A Key to Development-Oriented Trade, Peter Eigen
Environment's New Role in U.S. Trade Policy, John Audley
Reforming Global Trade in Agriculture: A Developing-Country Perspective, Shishir Priyadarshi
Doha: Is It Really a Development Round?, Kamal Malhotra
About the Author
Mr. Scott Vaughan
Former Visiting Scholar
- NAFTA's Promise and Reality: Lessons from Mexico for the Hemishphere
- Decoding Cancun: Hard Decisions for a Development RoundOther
- +1
Mr. John Audley, George Perkovich, Ms. Sandra Polaski, …
Recent Work
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
More Work from Carnegie Europe
- How Le Pen Benefits from the Stalemate in UkraineCommentary
The domestic impacts of how long it is taking to end the war in Ukraine have pushed the French electorate to the political extremes and compromised the country’s diplomatic capacity.
Rym Momtaz
- A Black Sea Truce Is About Global Food Security, TooCommentary
A summer of escalation in the Black Sea has hurt Ukraine economically and is exacerbating world food security. A truce is needed—as is a broader reframing of Europe’s Ukraine strategy.
Thomas de Waal
- Taking the Pulse: Is Canada Leading a Third Way?Commentary
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has twice inspired praise for standing up to U.S. President Donald Trump: at the 2026 World Economic Forum in Davos and on Canada-U.S. trade negotiations. Is Carney showing a third way better than the EU has in dealing with the Trump administration?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Geopolitical Europe Needs Air-ConditioningCommentary
Western Europe’s dual-use infrastructure melted down during its latest heat wave. If a predicted hot weather event can take the continent by surprise, what chance does it have to withstand unexpected geopolitical crises?
Rym Momtaz
- A Grand Strategy for Europe’s Clean Industrial FuturePaper
Europe’s industrial supply chains leave it vulnerable to global shocks. The EU needs a pragmatic green industrial strategy that balances durable partnerships and bolsters homegrown clean tech without sacrificing low-carbon ambition.
Milo McBride, Pauline Gerard
