ABSTRACT
International trade is widely seen by environmentalists as an opposing force. However, the adoption of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and subsequent disputes at the trade and environment interface indicate that environment related issues are perhaps being approached in a ‘sensitive’ manner by the World Trade Organization (WTO). This chapter commences with a brief account of the theory that has promoted free trade in modern times and examines the Tuna-Dolphin dispute by way of background. The chapter then considers GATT 1994 and the environment-related disputes under it, before concluding with an examination of the environment-focused provisions in other WTO agreements. It concludes by questioning whether the ‘sensitive’ approach embodying balance professed by the WTO through its decisions really go sufficiently far in the face of current environmental disasters, and suggests that the WTO could play a more creative role in closing the gaps between trade and environment disputes.
