Application Of Environmental Labeling Under WTO Regulations

In 1990s, the international society generally attached much importance to theproblems between trade and environment and WTO paid more attention to the problemsrelated to the environment. At the meeting of DOAH in 2001, the topic concerningtrade and environment was included in the agenda of the new-round multilateralnegotiation. The final declaration of the meeting precisely instructed CTE to payspecial attention to environmental labeling. In the opinion of the author, environmental labeling is an environmental measureto be easily coordinated with the regulations of international trade. But among themembers of WTO it is always debated. By listing some cases of GATT/WTO andanalyzing relevant regulations of GATT 1994, Agreement on Technical Barriers toTrade, Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, thisthesis seeks to discuss on the application of environmental labeling under theregulations of WTO. The author stresses the analysis of how the articles of GATT standardize the 1environmental labeling. In GATT 1994, the articles related to environmental labelingare the first article of Most-Favored-Nation Treatment Clause, the third article ofNational Treatment Clause regulated in domestic laws, the 11th article of GeneralElimination of Quantitative Restrictions Clause and the 20th article of GeneralException Clause. TBT Agreement is a very important agreement regarding thestandardization of environmental labeling while SPS Agreement only regulates thoselabeling related to food security. TBT Agreement and SPS Agreement take precedence inthe case of any conflict with the regulations of GATT 1994. Finally, the author discusses on the problems related to environmental labeling ourcountry faces. On the basis of the fact that China is still a developing country, theauthor holds the view that China should stick to the following basic points regardingthe topic of WTO's environmental labeling: 1) the environmental labeling is to bestandardized under the regulations of WTO; 2) it is not necessary to enforce theenvironmental labeling; 3) the application of PPMs irrelevant to products is to bestrictly limited. What's more, in order to make China's environmental labeling rulesperfect, the author advocate that the following principles should be adopted: 1) WTOregulations are to be complied with; 2) overseas advanced experiences are to becombined with China's actual conditions; 3) international cooperation and internationalrecognization on environmental labeling are to be carried on.