- Introduction
- WTO and forest certification
- Forest Certification and eco-labels
- WTO and Seattle
- Ethical trade and protectionism
Introduction
Whilst its promoters believe that there are numerous benefits to be gained by many producers from ethical trade, some stakeholders in the South argue that ethical trade schemes act as trade protection, or at least create problems of market access.
This site results from a concern to understand policy factors that may affect ethical trade initiatives. The focus here is the potential impact of international trade policy, particularly in the context of the World Trade Organisation and the new round of trade negotiations to be launched at the Ministerial Meeting in Seattle (30 November to 3 December 1999). The interpretation of international trade rules, governed by the WTO and negotiations on liberalisation may in the near future significantly affect the context in which ethical trade schemes operate.
WTO and forest certification
The focus of this edition will be on Forest Certification, as trade in certified timber is the major form of ethical trade in the forest sector. Forest certification is a kind of e co-labelling. There has been considerable debate in the committees of the WTO over the past few years about the trade impacts of eco-labelling schemes, particularly whether or not they create trade impediments. Forest certification schemes have been a key element of this debate.
More recently many people in the environment and forestry communities have been concerned about recent moves by the APEC to introduce liberalisation in the forest sector to the agenda for discussion in the new trade round that will begin at the Seattle Ministerial Meeting (30 November to 3 December 1999). Alarm bells are being raised that this will lead to deforestation. What are the implications of liberalisation in the forest sector for ethical trade schemes and sustainable forest management?
WTO and the Seattle Ministerial Meeting