ABSTRACT
The general view that cross-country intraindustry harmonization of environmental standards is required if free trade is to be implemented and the specific proposals currently in vogue to implement this view are therefore in need of analytical scrutiny. Intrinsically international problems and intrinsically domestic problems of the environment raise questions that interface with trade questions in both common and different ways. There are policy instruments that are superior to trade sanctions, for example, income transfers; policies could serve the purpose of improving labor standards in developing countries. Clearly, a social clause is nothing but a thinly veiled protectionist device in a context. Even if there is an international consensus on minimum standards, as Steve Charnovitz points out, the potential for its capture by protectionists is significant. A social clause would be used for not only gaining protection but also enunciating basic labor standards, and monitoring their observance would become yet another avenue for "managed trade”.
