PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP

The proceedings of the Trade and Sustainable Development Workshop, held in July 1999 in Midrand, South Africa, detail discussions between government, business, and NGO representatives on the intersection of international trade and environmental protection. The workshop focused on preparing South Africa for the WTO Millennium Round in Seattle, examining the risks of 'green protectionism' and 'eco-imperialism' versus the opportunities of 'greening' trade. Key analyses included case studies on the South African coal, steel, and citrus sectors, as well as the potential of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and ISO 14001 certification. The participants identified significant research gaps in the impact of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and the need for a coordinated national mechanism to support trade negotiators with empirical evidence.

• South Africa's citrus industry successfully adapted to environmental and social pressures from international buyers, such as supermarkets, by changing production processes and monitoring farms, thereby maintaining or expanding its market share.
• The South African coal and steel sectors face potential threats from international environmental trends, such as the Kyoto Protocol, though the coal industry has shown limited response and the steel sector's environmental investment is half the world norm.
• Developing countries face a dichotomy in WTO negotiations where they must either accept a litigious regime based on case law or proactively explore trade and environmental issues to avoid conflicts, especially as Northern countries resist making environment a discrete agenda item.
• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is criticized for potentially favoring the transfer of obsolete technologies over the cleanest ones, as it may award greater gains to those with 'dirtier' technology due to short-term penalties for cleaner alternatives.
• There is a perceived overemphasis on ISO 14001 in South Africa, which some argue may stifle local creativity in solving environmental problems and may not always link a company's paper trail to actual performance.
• The workshop identified 'green protectionism' (using environmental regulations to protect domestic industry) and 'eco-imperialism' (developed countries dictating environmental behavior to developing ones via PPM standards) as primary negative effects of environmental concerns in trade.
• A significant research gap exists regarding the implications of trade aspects within multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) for South Africa, which is described as a 'huge gap in research'.
• The tourism sector in South Africa is viewed as a high-opportunity area for sustainable trade because it is reliant on the environment and faces growing demand for social and environmental considerations from foreign markets, particularly Germany.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (1999). PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sa_tknmeetingreport.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP. 1999. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sa_tknmeetingreport.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP |date=1999 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sa_tknmeetingreport.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment1999proceedings, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{PROCEEDINGS OF THE TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOP}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {1999}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/sa_tknmeetingreport.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }