Reforms to the International Trade Regime for the Protection of Marine Living Resources

Abstract

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established, as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), through Marrakesh Agreement giving birth to new arenas of international trade. Though the main objective of the WTO is to promote free and fair trade among the member states, the draftsman of the agreement has clearly identified the need of addressing the interdisciplinary perspectives of trade. There are number of agreements and provisions under the WTO umbrella, which focuses on these interdisciplinary issues including marine environmental concerns of international trade. Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, Agreement on Sanitary and Phiosanotary Measures and GATT provide explicit provisions to address trade related ecological issues. However, the world had witnessed a number of trade related marine eco system degradations where the Dispute Settlement Panels have used their discretionary powers in a trade favoured manner. This study is a literature based research that focuses on assessing the existing international trade regime in light of balancing global trade and marine environmental interests. The foremost output of the study is that free trade or open economy is not always in conflict with the protection of natural resources provided if necessary regulations are in place. The focal point is that the provisions under the current regime are not efficiently and effectively implemented in order to ensure the proper balance between the two disciplines. In conclusion, the WTO needs to ensure that they promote not only fair and free trade but also a green trading system and for that purpose, the WTO should encourage the member states and Dispute Settlement Panels to promote world trade while keeping an eye on the international environmental standards.