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One of the most controversial areas for the WTO and its member governments has been the relationship between trade and the environment. What are the overlapping issues? What is the impact of trade or trade negotiations on environmental issues? How do these issues affect the developing countries, and what position have various developing countries taken? Explain the relationship between protection of the environment and economic development.

a. Consider the following major trade-related environmental disputes at the WTO: U.S.—Standards for Reformulated and Conventional Gasoline (provisions of the U.S. Clean Air Act, DS52)

• U.S.—Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products (selling of shrimp caught in nets without turtle extractors, DS58)

• European Communities—Measures Affecting Asbestos and Asbestos-Containing Products (DS135)

• European Communities—Measures Concerning Meat and Meat Products (containing growth hormones, DS26, DS48, DS39)

• European Communities—Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products (genetically engineered foods, DS291)

Using one of these cases, write a case study on the relationship between trade and environmental issues. Be sure to explore both sides of the debate.

b. For alternative views on trade and the environment, see the Websites of Public Citizen and the Sierra Club and a highly educational site presented by the Levin Institute at the State University of New York, aptly called Globalization101.org. To learn more about the important Shrimp/Turtle case at the WTO, see the Website of the National Wildlife Federation.