World Trade Organization

The current World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations are a threat to environmental protection and will worsen economic inequality globally. An agreement in the current round of WTO negotiations, called the Doha round, would promote global trade in vulnerable natural resources, including forest products and endangered fish species. The WTO talks could also force developing countries to open their markets to agricultural products from rich countries, undermining poor small farmers around the world while only minimally addressing the impacts of massive subsidies and other harmful agricultural policies in the rich countries. Negotiations on WTO rules for service sectors such as hazardous waste transport and pipeline construction could undermine the rights of countries, including the United States, to maintain environmental laws that are viewed as too burdensome.

At the WTO and in other trade agreements, Friends of the Earth advocates for trade rules that ensure a sustainable future for both people and the environment:

• Trade policies should protect small farms and other small businesses, especially in developing countries.
• Trade policies should minimize environmental impacts of exporting products to other countries and should not promote increased trade in natural resources.
• Trade policies should help develop local and regional economies, while protecting developing countries from the dumping of rich country products onto their markets.