Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

WTO trade and environment: a practical guide to TBT, GATT Article XX, SPS, GATS, Agriculture, SCM, TRIPS, ministerial decisions and the Environmental Goods Agreement

Published by a LexisNexis International Trade expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note offers practical guidance on trade and the environment within the WTO. It outlines the relevant WTO agreements that touch on aspects of environmental protection, the pertinent ministerial decisions, and the ongoing talks on an Environmental Goods Agreement within that context.

Introduction

Since its creation in 1995, the WTO has recognised the interplay between commerce and the natural environment. The Marrakesh Agreement establishing the WTO lists among its aims the optimal utilisation of the world’s resources in pursuit of sustainable development. This objective is to be realised by striving both to safeguard and conserve the environment and to strengthen the tools for doing so, in a way that aligns with each Member States’ particular needs and priorities across varying stages of economic development.

Historically, Members have tended to view the trade–environment nexus through the lens of how environmental policies may affect trade flows. As a result, during the Tokyo Round negotiations, Members concluded the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). From an environmental standpoint, the TBT Agreement’s emphasis was on whether environmental measures adopted by Members, in their conception and application, were being considered from the perspective of effects on trade between Members, at the time,...

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Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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