Reshaping globalisation with a green trade strategy

The author contends that existing trade agreements, such as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), prioritize corporate interests over public regulation and environmental standards, contributing to the rise of right-wing populism. To address this, the document proposes a green trade strategy where agreements are only concluded with nations committed to the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This strategy advocates for the removal of investor-state-dispute-settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, the integration of enforceable social and ecological standards, and the application of the 'precautionary principle' to protect consumers. Additionally, the author argues that trade policy must be supported by regional industrial policies to manage structural economic changes and stricter competition laws to limit the market power of multinational corporations.

• Current trade agreements, exemplified by the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), are criticized for promoting unregulated free trade while granting extensive rights to large corporations, which the author argues has contributed to the rise of nationalism.
• Investor-state-dispute-settlement (ISDS) mechanisms allow companies to challenge environmental and consumer protection regulations in private tribunals if those regulations reduce expected profits, thereby undermining public regulation.
• A proposed green trade strategy requires that trade agreements only be signed with countries that have committed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement.
• To prevent 'ecological or social dumping', green trade agreements must include enforceable social, ecological, and human rights standards that can be sanctioned or sued similarly to other treaty obligations.
• The 'precautionary principle'—which allows the prohibition of risky products even without full proof of harm—should be explicitly included in trade treaties to ensure European consumer protection is not weakened.
• Trade policy alone is insufficient to counter populism; it must be paired with proactive regional industrial policies, including retraining and state-led innovation investment, to support those negatively affected by structural economic shifts.
• Stronger competition policy and merger control are necessary to limit the power of multinationals, with a specific call for 'interoperability' in social media to break the market dominance of platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.

APA

Dröge, K. (2018). Reshaping globalisation with a green trade strategy. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/reshaping-globalisation-with-a-green-trade-strategy/

Chicago

Dröge, Katharina. Reshaping globalisation with a green trade strategy. Green European Journal, 2018. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/reshaping-globalisation-with-a-green-trade-strategy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Dröge |first1=Katharina |title=Reshaping globalisation with a green trade strategy |publisher=Green European Journal |date=30 December 2018 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/reshaping-globalisation-with-a-green-trade-strategy/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{drge2018reshaping, author = {Dröge, Katharina}, title = {{Reshaping globalisation with a green trade strategy}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/reshaping-globalisation-with-a-green-trade-strategy/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }