24/02/2011
New Paper Constructs Green Route for Fast Track
| Source | John Audley |
|---|---|
| Release date | 24/09/2002 |
| Contributor | bulanmir |
CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 24, 2002
Contact: Scott Nathanson, 202-939-2289, snathanson@ceip.org
Congress Opportunity to Make Trade Go Green
In the third issue of the Carnegie Endowments Trade, Equity, and Development paper series, Environments New Role in U.S. Trade Policy senior associate John Audley constructs a roadmap for Congress to use the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) it granted President Bush to develop an effective new role in protecting the environment.
While recognizing that TPA does contain weaknesses, Audley delves into the substance of environmental language the trade act contains and traces the steps Congress can take in order to mold TPA into an effective tool of environmental protection:
- Improvements in Congressional Oversight and Consultation: TPA has created a Congressional Oversight Group that will have access to all U.S. trade negotiations. Congress must take advantage by ensuring that congressional staff is also permitted access, and that leading members of environmental committees are included in the group.
- Monitor Short-Term Trade Policy: Chile, Singapore, Morocco, and Central America: Beginning with Chile, one of the few nations in the Western Hemisphere currently willing to include environmental standards in a trade agreement, Congress must insist on the inclusion of environmental language in early agreements in order to set precedent.
- Know the Specific Implications of Trade Negotiation Issues: Given TPAs vague environmental language, it is imperative that Congress hold hearings as quickly as possible in order to make clear what kind of environmental standards will or will not meet the law.
- Learn Where and How U.S. Dollars are Spent Developing Trade Policy: The new fields created from well-constructed trade agreements, from environmental reviews of the agreements to capacity building in partner nations to ensure proper enforcement of local environmental laws, must be properly funded and monitored.
Audley concludes that "Resolving the arising complex policy issues requires Congress to become more involved in trade negotiations, and work with the interested public to ensure that U.S. trade policies reflect the broader interests of American society."
To request copies of this paper, contact pubs@ceip.org, or visit http://www.ceip.org/files/Publications/TED_3.asp?p=43&from=pubdate.
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