What you need to know about ‘NAMA’: Why the WTO’s non-agricultural market access negotiations threaten both environment and development

This briefing by Friends of the Earth International argues that the World Trade Organization's (WTO) 'non-agricultural market access' (NAMA) negotiations pose significant risks to the global environment and the economic development of developing nations by promoting the liberalisation of natural resources and the removal of non-tariff barriers.

• NAMA negotiations target the liberalisation of all natural resources, with a current focus on gems, minerals, and fish and fish products. Some proposals, such as one from the United Arab Emirates, suggest that all raw materials, including oil and forest products, should be fully liberalised to increase consumption and market access.
• The pursuit of 'zero-for-zero' liberalisation in the fishery and forest sectors is identified as a threat to sustainable resource management. Such an approach could induce catches beyond renewable capacities and ignore the specific management conditions of forests in individual countries.
• NAMA threatens the ability of governments to use non-tariff barriers (NTBs) for environmental and social protection. Specific measures at risk include the certification of wood products, packaging and labelling requirements, general import prohibitions for environmental purposes, and restrictions on chemicals and viruses.
• There is a contentious debate regarding the definition of 'environmental goods'. Definitions may range from 'end-of-pipe' pollution technologies, which would benefit Northern exports, to products processed in an environmentally friendly manner, or all natural goods based on raw materials, which could increase unsustainable consumption.
• Developing countries face severe economic risks under NAMA, including deindustrialisation and the loss of government custom revenue. The removal of trade measures may lock these countries into commodity dependence and prevent the development of competitive value-added processing industries.
• Friends of the Earth International recommends that governments immediately halt NAMA negotiations, conduct an independent review of its environmental and developmental impacts, and protect the policy space required to manage natural resources sustainably.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2004). What you need to know about ‘NAMA’: Why the WTO’s non-agricultural market access negotiations threaten both environment and development. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NAMAenvironmentFINAL.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. What you need to know about ‘NAMA’: Why the WTO’s non-agricultural market access negotiations threaten both environment and development. 2004. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NAMAenvironmentFINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=What you need to know about ‘NAMA’: Why the WTO’s non-agricultural market access negotiations threaten both environment and development |date=October 2004 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NAMAenvironmentFINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2004what, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{What you need to know about ‘NAMA’: Why the WTO’s non-agricultural market access negotiations threaten both environment and development}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2004}, month = oct, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/NAMAenvironmentFINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }