Environmental Protection And Green Barriers In South-North Trade

Environmental protection and trade liberalization are the common goals pursued by both South and North. They are the key elements of sustainable development and the sources of "trade and environment" problems. In some sense,the issue of "trade and environment" has its root mainly in the gap between the rich and poor countries. Firstly,the asymmetric development between South and North is an important cause of "trade and environment" problems;secondly,the issue of "trade and environment" is related to conflicts of interest between South and North. Therefore,a two-parties model of "South-North" provides us with a simple framework for analysis of "trade and environment" problems.South-North Trade and environment interact. First,differences in environmental standards (policies) between the two parties affect the comparative advantages in world trade. Some studies indicate that,it is still a disputed problem whether different environmental standards made developing countries gain comparative advantages in trade. Next,trade is not the root but the multiplier of environmental problem. The various environmental effects of trade and trade liberalization are complicated and lopsided. North gain more environmental benefit than South,while South suffer more environmental cost than North.With regard to the issue of "trade and environment",unequal relations between South and North are in existence in reality. North dominate the rules and operation of international institutions;Poor countries suffered trade losses as a result of environmental barriers from the rich countries,while the latter gain most benefits from such barriers.Environmental problems in the South are different form those in the North. The environment in North improves rapidly with economy development and South-North trade. It is because the ecological footprint for economic growth is transferred from the South to the North. Accordingly,South-North trade often results in with adverse impacts on both the environmental improvement and economic development in the South.International cooperation in environment and trade can take the form of transfers of financial and technological resources from North to South to help South upgrade environmental standards. North should promote the greening of the multilateral trading system in accordance with multilateral environmental agreements.According to principles of equity and environmental sustainability,firstly,developing countries must establish appropriate environmental standards and demand appropriate ecological compensation from the developed countries for their over-exploitation of natural resources in the poor countries. Secondly,unilateral environmental barriers should be opposed and free trade advocated for promoting economic development. Thirdly,we should promote international cooperation,and harmonize multilateral environmental agreements and WTO rules.