envstandards_trade_23mar1994-7d62cd00e6e97db6.pdf

In this 1994 testimony, Durwood Zaelke of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the global economic system fails the environment by externalizing costs. He proposes "competitive sustainability," a model that uses trade law and market forces to drive the upward harmonization of environmental standards. Key recommendations include the use of countervailing duties to offset environmental subsidies, the adoption of life cycle analysis and green labelling, and the creation of an international Administrative Procedures Act to enhance enforcement and NGO participation.

• The current market-based economic system fails the environment because most environmental costs are external to the market, meaning services like pollution assimilation and natural resources such as fish stocks are either free or underpriced, leading to their overuse and abuse.
• The author argues that current population and economic growth trends are unsustainable within ecosystem limits, and that further growth is likely to increase costs more rapidly than benefits, resulting in "uneconomic growth".
• The concept of "competitive sustainability" is proposed as a steering mechanism to promote environmental standards as a competitive element. It aims for the "upward harmonization" of standards to reward the cleanest and most efficient economic actors and create a level playing field.
• The author suggests using the United States' strong environmental standards as a "fulcrum" and trade expansion as a "lever" to improve standards in other nations, citing the US demand for Mexico to improve its environmental law system during NAFTA negotiations as an example.
• To address the competitive advantage of products from nations with substandard environmental laws, the author proposes allowing nations to apply countervailing duties equal to the environmental subsidy the products receive upon entering a market.
• The testimony recommends several tools for measuring and disclosing environmental costs to promote sustainability, including life cycle analysis, sophisticated environmental labelling, and the redesign of national accounts.
• The author advocates for the creation of an international Administrative Procedures Act (APA), based on the US model, to improve enforcement and NGO participation in international institutions and national legal systems.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). envstandards_trade_23mar1994-7d62cd00e6e97db6.pdf. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. envstandards_trade_23mar1994-7d62cd00e6e97db6.pdf. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=envstandards_trade_23mar1994-7d62cd00e6e97db6.pdf |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndenvstandardstrade23mar19947d62cd00e6e97db6pdf, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{envstandards\_trade\_23mar1994-7d62cd00e6e97db6.pdf}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }