The Legal Problems Related To The Green Barriers Within WTO

With the development of science, technology and productivity, world economy has been heading for globalization. It seems as if world commerce were a needle sewing such pieces of cloth as individual countries' resources, labor force, equipment, technology and market into a garment for one person to put on. This irresistible trend can be noticed in two ways. One is the two world wars in the 20^th century, revealing from the opposite side the universal desire for international economic unity and disharmony. The other one is the development of GATT and WTO, affirmatively expressing the same desire at the level of negotiation despite some disharmonious occurrences.In fact, this person is the global workers and consumers, and the garment the WTO. The establishment of the WTO and its universal development show not only the increasingly high level of the integration of the world market, but also the more sophisticated and more closely related global social production and the global utilization of environmental resources.Modernization of agriculture in China has truly made a big step forward when the central government relieved the farmers in the whole country from the agricultural taxes and granted a certain amount of allowance to every mu of farming land. The overall industrial power of China has really been considerably strengthened when its foreign trade exceeds one thousand billion and ranks among the leading countries. Strictly speaking, China is still far from being an economically strong country, but its booming economy since its entry to the WTO has at least made one fact clear that China is a rapidly developing economic power that should not be ignored. The economic development of China has stimulated the economy in the other regions and vice versa. The fact that China and the world are inseparable lies in international trade.From a historical view, however, international trade doesn't mean the best utilization of the global natural resources, as conceived by some classical economists, but instead an apparent cause to the problem of global environment. If we agree that the plastic bag was the worst invention of the 20^th century because the pollution caused by it causes such a mess, then international trade is its closest accomplice, sweeping across every corner of the world with plastic bags. If aggressive exploitation and utilization of resources have destroyed the environment, then it is international trade that has caused this kind of exploitation and utilization to proliferate like a tumor.As an old Chinese saying goes, he who ties unties; solving the problem of global environment depends on reforming and improving the WTO. Tariff barrier, non-tariff barrier and green barrier all seem to turn against international trade, though they are derivatives of international trade, especially from the operation of GATT and the WTO. They are apparently in contradiction and out of harmony. It is generally considered that green barrier forms an obstacle to global free trade. First of all, green barrier, as a kind of new non-tariff barrier, hurts the economy of underdeveloped countries directly by the western developed countries restricting other countries' export, protecting the interest of their own industry, market and trade.Secondly, green barrier has played a "reactionary" role in the process of exerting endeavors to establish and push forward a fair and rational new international economic order. Thirdly, it is in conflict with a series of WTO principles and regulations, leading to instability and disharmony of the present economic order. The negative side of green barrier is so obvious and notorious. Almost everything has two sides, with the advantage coexisting with the disadvantage and vice verse. Green barrier and free world trade are a contradictory entity, coexisting with each other and resisting each other. From the perspective of protecting the global environment, green barrier is not reactionary, but plays a "green" part, because it has the positive function of protecting the environment, promoting the sustaining development of world economy and trade, enhancing the sense of protecting global environment, and then improving developing countries' ability to protect the environment. The Chinese culture enjoys a long history, with a philosophy rich in such ideas as humans and nature united as one, and favorable timing and geographical positions.China, as a nation pursuing peaceful development, harmonious society and sustaining development, ought to pay close attention to and participate actively in disputes concerning green barrier in world trade, take part in such activities as establishment of green barrier and settlement of disputes. China should also revise and improve its own system of environmental standards so that it can contribute greatly to the successful development of the WTO and protection of the ecological environment.