Key Message
Trade liberalization is a major engine of economic growth, so it has great potential as a force for sustainable development. Unfortunately, the link is not automatic. Where trade policy is in conflict with environment and development policy, it can delay or even undermine the achievement of sustainable development. IISD's work on trade focuses on how we can help ensure positive outcomes.
Team
 | · Mark Halle Director - Trade and Investment, and European Representative | |
 | · Aaron Cosbey Associate and Senior Climate Change and Trade Advisor | |
 | · Adil Najam Associate and Senior Fellow | |
 | · Chris Charles Programme Administrator | |
 | · Clarita Martinet-Fay Programme Officer | |
 | · Damon Vis-Dunbar Communications Officer | |
 | · Fariba Di Benedetto-Achtari Secretary | |
 | · Fiona Marshall Associate | |
 | · Flavia Thomé Programme Administrator | |
 | · Howard Mann Associate & Senior International Law Advisor | |
 | · Huihui (Helena) Zhang Project Officer, China | |
 | · Jason Potts Associate and Program Manager, SMART | |
 | · Javed Ahmad Communications Director, Global Subsidies Initiative | |
 | · Oli Brown Program Manager | |
 | · Oshani Perera Program Officer | |
 | · Peter Wooders Senior Economist | |
 | · Rachael Muller Programme Administrator | |
 | · Ron Steenblik Associate | |
 | · Sabrina Shaw Associate; Writer/Editor Earth Negotiations Bulletin | |
 | · Tara Laan Assistant Researcher | |
International Trade
Making international trade work for sustainable development
What's New in Trade?
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In June 2008, IISD collaborated with the Government of Denmark, the German Marshall Fund and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development to convene a major seminar on trade and climate change in Copenhagen. The event's background papers have been revised and finalized, and constitute excellent brief surveys of the key issues in each of the six areas covered:- Liberalization of Trade in Environmental Goods for Climate Change Mitigation: The Sustainable Development Context (PDF - 200 kb)
- Border Carbon Adjustment PDF - 150 kb
- Embodied Carbon in Traded Goods PDF - 173 kb
- Climate Change, Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Rights PDF - 181 kb
- Clean Energy Investment PDF - 139 kb
- Standards, Labelling and Certification PDF - 176 kb
The event's summary remarks are also available, as is a comprehensive report (PDF - 700 kb) that covers all the themes from this meeting. Support for this event came from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Government of Denmark and the German Marshall Fund.
International trade has enormous potential to foster or frustrate sustainable development. By allowing for specialization, trade can increase incomes and contribute to increased well-being. Openness to investment and trade can bring new environmentally-friendly technologies and processes.
But trade can also allow powerful global demand to deplete countries' natural resources and create increased pollution. And the benefits of trade are not always well distributed among and within nations.
In seeking positive outcomes, IISD focuses on two major themes, with a particular concern for developing countries:
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Trade Policy and SD
National-level trade policy sets objectives such as export expansion in key sectors. It needs to consider the impacts on the national environment as well as the social impacts. Other factors at the national level are also key; liberalization without strong environmental, regulatory regimes can lead to environmental crises. And liberalization without the capacity to benefit from market access, and without the capacity to cushion the blow of adjustment, may be economically and socially damaging. Trade policy needs to take these dynamics into account. -
Trade Law and SD
Trade rules themselves, as cast in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and regional trade agreements, are key in determining whether trade has a positive sustainable development outcome. As well, the process of negotiation—and trade institutions like the WTO—can, by their very character, influence sustainable development outcomes.
Contents
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Cross-cutting Issues: Trade and Climate Change
There are a number of ways in which trade policy might help serve climate change goals, but this will only happen if we fully understand the potential and map out how to exploit it. As well, a number of climate change measures may have negative trade impacts, and we need to understand these well enough to take those impacts into account and avoid them where possible. -
Our Philosophy
Starting points: the principles of trade and sustainable development; our assumptions, our beliefs, our way forward. -
Trade Policy and SD
What needs to happen at the domestic level to ensure that trade policy contributes to SD? Our work in developing countries. -
Trade Law and SD
Can the institutions of trade—the WTO and other trade law, and the negotiations that they entail—be better formulated to harness globalization for SD? -
China, Trade and SD
The latest of our long-standing trade policy work in China.
Key Publication
Trade and Environment: A Resource Book
» IISD, 2007.IISD, in collaboration with the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development and The Ring, has released this publication as a means to shed light on some of the key themes in the trade and environment debate. Penned by 61 authors from 34 countries, this volume provides a blend of background information, expert commentaries and resources including a glossary, and a trade and environment timeline.
More...
Our Knowledge
» Themes
- Climate Change and Energy
- Economics and SD
- Foreign Investment for SD
- Governance for Sustainable Development
- Information Society
- International Trade
- Measurement and Assessment
- Natural Resources
- Networks & Partnerships
- Security
- Sustainable Markets
- Tomorrow's SD Leaders
» Initiatives
