| CBD | Convention on Biological Diversity |
| CEC | Commission for Environmental Cooperation |
| CFCs | chlorofluorocarbons |
| CITES | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora |
| COP | Conference of Parties |
| CTE | Committee on Trade and Environment |
| DSB | Dispute Settlement Body |
| DSM | dispute settlement mechanism |
| DSU | Dispute Settlement Understanding |
| EU | European Union |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization |
| FCCC | Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| FDI | foreign direct investment |
| GATS | General Agreement on Trade in Services |
| GATT | General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade |
| GDP | gross domestic product |
| GMO | genetically modified organism |
| IEA | international environmental agreement |
| ISO | International Organization for Standardization |
| LCA | life cycle analysis |
| LMO | living genetically modified organism |
| MAI | Multilateral Agreement on Investment |
| MEA | multilateral environmental agreement |
| Mercosur | Mercado Común del Sur (Southern Common Market: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) |
| MFN | most-favoured nation |
| NAFTA | North American Free Trade Agreement (Canada, Mexico, United States) |
| NGO | non-governmental organization |
| OECD | Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development |
| PCBs | polychlorinated biphenyls |
| PIC | The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade |
| POPs | Convention on the Control of Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| PPMs | process and production methods |
| PVP | plant variety protection |
| R&D | research and development |
| SPS | Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures |
| SRM | standards-related measures |
| TBT | Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade |
| TRIMs | Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures |
| TRIPS | Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights |
| UNCED | United Nations Conference on Environment and Development |
| UNCTAD | United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme |
| UPOV | International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants |
| WIPO | World Intellectual Property Organization |
| WTO | World Trade Organization |
