The Increasing Importance of Environmental Protection in World Trade and the Power Principle

During the last decades many international environmental agreements have included trade regulations, & many trade agreements have included environmental provisions. Especially the General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT 47) & the World Trade Organization (WTO) have undergone remarkable changes. While the GATT 47 spoke about "full use of the resources of the world" the WTO demands "optimal use of the world's resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development." At the same time the interpretation of environmental regulations gets more extensive, sometimes to the disadvantage of free trade. The limits between environmental protection & free trade, however, are set by the powerful trading partners. Adapted from the source document.