The Clinton Administration released a draft proposal that would require
all future trade agreements signed by the US government to undergo extensive
environmental impact reviews. The first step in implementing this order
is to establish procedures and guidelines for how the USTR and the Council
on Environmental Quality (CEQ) will identify the potential environmental
effects of multilateral trade rounds, multilateral or bilateral free trade
agreements, and other major new agreements.
Sections 1 and 4 of the Order commit the US to careful assessment and
consideration of the ramifications of future trade agreements, including
environmental reviews of certain major agreements. Reviews will be conducted
by USTR through the Trade Policy Staff Committee.
Environmental impact reviews will consider the following:
- The extent to which the agreement might affect environmentally
sensitive resources and/or result in substantial changes in trade flows
of products or services that could confer environmental harms or benefits;
- The extent to which the agreement might affect US environmental
laws, regulations, policies, and/or international commitments; and
- The magnitude and scope of reasonably foreseeable environmental
impacts.
Environmental activists said the plan is a step in the right direction,
but did not go far enough. Friends of the Earth complained draft trade
agreements would not be made public, inhibiting the ability of environmental
groups to review the documents and register their complaints.
The metals industry on the whole has not been following the issue intently,
a fact that will likely change as soon as the reviews begin. This will
probably develop into more of an issue as each trade initiative is reviewed
on a case-by-case basis.
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