ABSTRACT
The confluence of environmental, business, and labor interests that weighed in as the nation deliberated over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) foreshadowed what have become some of the most far-reaching and contentious environmental policy issues, as well as the entrance onto the political scene of new pressures, new authorities, and new rules from abroad. The most publicized international environmental issue has been global climate change, the phenomenon of the world's gradual warming due to the buildup of so-called greenhouse gases, principal among which is carbon dioxide. Aggressive environmental policies such as these by the European Union can be viewed in a number of ways. American interests see them as protectionist; ways to secure a market advantage for their own products. Europeans, conversely, see trade policies as a way to achieve environmental goals. Domestic and international environmental conditions are politically intertwined, and US policies will henceforth be affected by global factors and actors.
