International Trade Agreements - Commentary

CELA has a long history of recognizing the consequences of globalization on environmental protection. The expansion of international trade regimes has made it more difficult for countries to develop new and more progressive laws and policies. The same pressures have contributed to rollbacks of existing laws and policies in the areas of participation in decision-making as well as environmental and health protection rules. Since the proposal to introduce the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement in the late 1980s, CELA has been at the forefront of discussions and analysis of the environmental implications of international trade agreements. This work has frequently occurred in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Collected below are detailed and summary publications, articles and media releases providing commentary on issues and organizations including the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), the World Trade Organization, the North American Free Trade Agreement, the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas, the Biosafety Protocol and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).