ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a reflection on the mutual relation between water scarcity and trade and addresses two questions: what is the effect of international trade on domestic water resources and, conversely, what is the effect of water availability on international trade? The chapter focuses on the conflict between product transparency – which is aimed at enabling people to differentiate between sustainable and non-sustainable products – and the non-discrimination principle, which is one of the basic building blocks of international trade agreements. It discusses the problem that strong international trade agreements exist, but that international agreements on sustainable water use are absent altogether, so that a legal basis to restrict trade based on mutually agreed sustainability criteria is lacking. The chapter also discusses the idea of an international water label for water-intensive products. It presents the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization and on the risks and opportunities associated with the intensification of international trade in water-intensive commodities.
