PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS THROUGH TRADE AND OTHER LEGAL MECHANISMS

The testimony proposes "competitive sustainability" as a way to use trade law and market mechanisms to internalize environmental costs and raise global environmental standards. It suggests using countervailing duties to eliminate subsidies for products made under substandard laws and calls for a "law and ecology" approach to legal design. The author emphasizes the need for better measurement, disclosure, and the expansion of NGO participation to ensure enforcement and transparency in international trade.

• The current market-based economic system fails the environment because most environmental costs are external to the market, leading to the overuse and abuse of natural resources.
• The author proposes "competitive sustainability," a mechanism that uses competitive forces to reward firms and countries with higher environmental standards, thereby achieving an upward harmonization of domestic and international protections.
• The United States used its own environmental standards as a basis to demand improvements in Mexico's environmental law system during NAFTA negotiations, serving as a model for using trade expansion to raise standards.
• To eliminate the competitive advantage of products made in nations with weak environmental laws, the author suggests applying countervailing duties equal to the environmental subsidy the products receive.
• The author advocates for the development of "law and ecology" as a school of thought to serve as an antidote to "law and economics," ensuring that legal systems are consistent with ecological principles.
• Improving transparency through life cycle analysis, environmental labelling, and the redesign of national accounts is recommended to identify and quantify environmental costs.
• The document recommends the creation of an international Administrative Procedures Act (APA), modeled after the US version, to improve enforcement and NGO participation in international institutions.

APA

Zaelke, D. (1994). PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS THROUGH TRADE AND OTHER LEGAL MECHANISMS. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf

Chicago

Zaelke, Durwood. PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS THROUGH TRADE AND OTHER LEGAL MECHANISMS. Center for International Environmental Law, 1994. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Zaelke |first1=Durwood |title=PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS THROUGH TRADE AND OTHER LEGAL MECHANISMS |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=23 March 1994 |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{zaelke1994promoting, author = {Zaelke, Durwood}, title = {{PROMOTING ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS THROUGH TRADE AND OTHER LEGAL MECHANISMS}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {1994}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/EnvStandards_Trade_23Mar1994.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }