US Trade and Environment Reviews Spark Call for Social Review

 
On December 13, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released final guidelines for implementing Executive Order 13141-Environmental Review of Trade Agreements. The order, signed by President Clinton in November 1999, commits the US to careful assessment and consideration of the environmental impact of future trade agreements, including written reviews of certain existing agreements.

The implementation of the executive order came at the same time that the US and Chile announced their intention to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement and immediately after the US signed an FTA with Jordan that contains environmental and worker rights language. During the US presidential campaign, George W. Bush indicated that he was against including labor and environmental issues in trade negotiations, since this would hinder the objectives of expanding trade opportunities for the US economy.

The new Bush administration may be able to influence the fates of the Chile and Jordan agreements, but it appears that the Clinton administration intends to leave some mines in its path.

In developing the environmental guidelines, USTR and CEQ sought to involve all interested stakeholders. The views of the public, gathered through a series of workshops, hearings and comment periods, played a significant role in shaping the final product. USTR and CEQ also consulted closely with key members of Congress and trade advisory committees, including the Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee (TEPAC). The Clinton administration's environmental, economic and foreign affairs agencies collaborated with USTR and CEQ in developing the provisions.

The final guidelines provide for the integration of environmental considerations into the development of trade policy objectives. They call for significant opportunities for public participation, including early public outreach and consultations concerning US objectives, an open and public process for determining the scope of the review, and opportunities to comment on draft reviews. The guidelines were sent to the Federal Register in late December and are posted on the USTR website, www.ustr.gov.

At the same time, member organizations of the Hemispheric Social Alliance were discussing a response to the announcement of the FTA negotiations between Chile and the US. Some of the Chilean and other members of this group of civil society organizations suggested a "social or developmental review" of the trade agreement along the lines of the environmental review. The USTR has said that both the Chile FTA and the FTAA will fall under these new environmental provisions.