Subsidiarity and Governance Challenges for the WTO: Environmental and Labour Standards

This paper asks whether environmental labor standards should be brought under the WTO, and answers, pretty definitively, "no." The case for standards in these areas is indisputable, but the case for internationalizing them is not. Where there is such a case, it is one for international coo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:World economy 2000-04, Vol.23 (4), p.561-576
Main Authors: Rollo, Jim, Winters, L. Alan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cooperation
Environmental policy
Environmental protection
Governance
International cooperation
International trade
Labor standards
Regulation
Social change
Studies
Subsidiarity
Trade agreements
Trade policy
Work standards
World Trade Organization
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This paper asks whether environmental labor standards should be brought under the WTO, and answers, pretty definitively, "no." The case for standards in these areas is indisputable, but the case for internationalizing them is not. Where there is such a case, it is one for international cooperation directly in these areas, rather than for seeking to enforce standards on unwilling partners through the use of trade sanctions. The principles of sound regulation in general are considered. EU experience in the labor and environmental fields is then examined, and an inappropriate model is found for global cooperation. General arguments surrounding the intersection of trade and environmental/social policies are then considered.
ISSN:0378-5920
1467-9701
DOI:10.1111/1467-9701.00290