Agriculturally Related Environmental Issues in Free Trade Agreements

The consideration of environmental matters in trade liberalization agreements has become an issue since they were included in NAFTA and recognized Uruguay round agreement that created the WTO. Many WTO members, especially the less developed countries, remain opposed to including environmental issues in trade agreements. However, Canada, the U.S. and a few other countries now include environmental provisions in their bilateral and regional trade agreements; the U.S. is required to do so under its 2002 Trade Promotion Act (PL 107-210). Furthermore, the declaration establishing the Doha Round of multilateral negotiations recognizes a role, albeit a limited one, for the environment in negotiating the next multilateral trade liberalization agreement. Negotiations on these issues have been intense with relatively little agreed on to date.