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Multilateralism vs. Unilateralism: The International Political Economy of the Trade/Environment Nexus

The relationship between trade and environmental policy has become a contentious issue in the 1990s. The purpose of the paper is to present an exposition of the international political economy of the trade/environment nexus with a view to elucidating the influence of economic and political forces. The rules of the GATT/WTO system and its relationship to multilateral environmental agreements with trade stipulations are outlined, together with regional arrangements in Europe and North America (the Europe Agreements and the NAFTA package). Special attention is paid to the multilateralism/ unilateralism continuum in handling couplings between trade and environmental protection. On the global level, a major dividing line runs between developing countries who oppose some developed countries’ proclivity to unilateral couplings of trade issues and environmental issues. On the regional level the arrangements show interesting differences between Europe and North America, suggesting how broader political transformations, rather than specific trade and environmental issues, shape international agreements on the trade/environment nexus between countries with very different income and pollution levels. Lastly, the importance of different environmental priorities in different parts of the world, and multilateral/unilateral choice, is stressed. Recent Titles in the Working Paper Series No. 9 New Powers, Old Patterns: Dangers of the Naval Buildup in the Asia Pacific Region, by Michael Wallace and Charles Meconis, March 1995 No. 10 The Evolution of Cooperative Security: Canada and the Human Dimension of the CSCE, 19731994, by Cathal J. Nolan, April 1995 No. 11 Chinese Naval Power and East Asian Security, by Elizabeth Speed, August 1995 No. 12 Taiwan: Between Two Nationalisms, by Andre Laliberte, January 1997 No. 13 Virtual Resources: International Relations Research on the Internet, by Ronald Deibert, April 1997 No. 14 Japan’s Regional and Global Coalition Participation: Political and Economic Aspects, by Frank Langdon, June 1997 No. 15 The Territorial Covenant: International Society and the Stabilization of Boundaries, by Robert H. Jackson and Mark W. Zacher, July 1997 No. 16 The Why and How of EU Enlargement, by David Long, July 1997 No. 17 Canada’s Transatlantic Interests and the Enlargement of NATO, by Allen G. Sens and Albert Legault, August 1997 No. 18 John Nelson (1873-1936) and the Origins of Canadian participation in APEC, by Lawrence T. Woods, October 1997 No. 19 Transnational Organized Crime and International Security, by Allan Castle, November 1997 No. 20 Sino-Russian Confidence Building Measures: A Preliminary Analysis, by Jing-dong Yuan, January 1998 No. 21 De Facto States in the International System, by Scott Pegg, February 1998 No. 22 Multilateralism vs. Unilateralism: The International Political Economy of the Trade/Environment Nexus, by Erik Beukel, June 1998