A Legal Inquiry On Green Barriers And Our Countermeasures

The environmental issue has become a focus since the 1980s. People have begun to realize the rapid increase of economic and trade under free trade has great impact on environment. A lot of environmental protection laws including some trade restriction measures have been set down esp. by the developed countries. These measures impede a country's foreign trade and they are called Green Barriers.The environmental exceptions provide legal basis for Green Protection Measures. But Green Barriers are aimed at trade protection in the name of environment protection and it is against the WTO principles. The WTO has laid more focuses on the environmental issue. The DSB (Dispute Settlement Bureau) of WTO has been restricting and regulating Green Protection Measures. We can see the attitudes and views of WTO in the coordination of free trade and environmental protection.After joining the WTO, China has confronted with Green Barriers initiated by developed countries and suffered great losses. Pollution industries and contamination has been imported to our country. It is significant and practical to study Green Barriers from WTO view to improve our trade and environmental law and enhance our competency.The whole article includes 3 chapters in about 30000 words in total. It discusses the definitions of Green Barriers, the WTO principles and attitudes, impacts on China and suggestions on countermeasures.Chapter 1 briefs the background of Green Barriers and the relationship between trade and environment. After discussing the different definitions of Green Barriers, it states the Green Barriers in the article is only limited within their narrow meanings. Then it tells the differences between of Green Barriers and Green Protection Measures, and the legal requirements of Green Barriers.Chapter 2 analyzes the WTO environmental clauses, their confliction and coordination with MEAs (Multilateral Environmental Agreements). Green Barriers are against the WTO principles: non-discriminations, transparency and favorable treatments to developing countries. It reviews the WTO attitude to Green Barriers by analyzing DSB's regulations and restrictions of Green Protection Measures and sees the tendencies of Green Barriers.Chapter 3 discusses the impact of Green Barriers on China and raised suggestions on our countermeasures. We shall improve our environmental and trade law system to meet the requirements of WTO and take an active part in the negotiations of multilateral trade system and environmental agreements.