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At last November’s Seattle summit of the World Trade Organization, the Sierra Cub mobilized thousands of environmentalists to peacefully protest the Clinton administration’s anti-environmental trade policy. We challenged the President to take executive action to fix the WTO rules that are being used to weaken our health and environmental standards in the name of "free trade." Government of, by, and for the Corporations Under the WTO, international trade tribunals can review and impose penalties for any act of any government that in any way compromises trade. The main champions of the WTO are the giant corporations that dominate global commerce. Consequently, these companies made certain that the WTO was given broad powers to foster trade by limiting governments’ ability to adopt and enforce standards to protect public health and the environment. Food Risks Rising As a result of the WTO and other trade agreements, America is importing more and more of its food. US safety inspectors can't keep up with the growing workload. To accelerate the process, the WTO encourages importing countries to accept the safety systems of exporters, but many imports come from countries where food safety is less advanced. As a result: Twenty thousand people were sickened with salmonella after eating alfalfa sprouts from the Netherlands. Thousands more suffered severe diarrhea and vomiting in 1997 and 1998 after eating tainted raspberries from Guatemala. In early 1999, thirteen Floridians contracted typhoid fever after drinking imported fruit juice. In addition, the WTO is forcing countries to weaken their food safety standards. In 1997, the WTO ordered Europe to lift its ban on American beef treated with growth hormones. The Clinton administration argued that the ban was not "scientific," even though some scientists believe that hormone residues may contribute to rising breast cancer rates. The WTO’s ruling set a dangerous precedent that could one day forces the US to lower its own food safety standards. Toxic Electronics Waste In 1999, at the request of lobbyists for the US electronics industry, the Clinton administration threatened to file a WTO complaint over Europe’s proposed new standards for reducing waste from junked computers. When computers are discarded, tons of hazardous materials and recyclable plastic enter the environment. In the United States, nearly 200 million pounds of lead, known to cause brain damage, enter the environment every year when obsolete computers are thrown away. US computer makers fear that tough, new standards in Europe could set a high bar that the United States would someday be compelled to meet. Instead, after the Clinton administration intervened, the Europeans watered down their proposal -- lowering the bar for an international solution to the problem of toxic computer junk.  Pests Threaten Forests As trade grows, more and more exotic pests hitchhike into the country on imported goods. For example, the Asian long-horned beetle has already destroyed thousands of trees in New York and Chicago after entering the country in wooden crates from China. Yet federal pest control officials say the WTO bars them from setting the tough, precautionary standards needed to keep pests out. Exotic pests already cost the US economy more than $138 billion in denuded forests, lost crops, and property damage. Exotics are also the second biggest threat to endangered species after habitat loss. Clean Air Sacrificed
America’s children will now have to breath dirtier air, even though the EPA believes we must do more to reduce the smog pollution that is contributing to a steep rise in asthma attacks. Endangering Sea Turtles In 1998, the WTO ruled against the US law requiring that all shrimp sold in America is caught in nets with turtle escape devices. These devices could save almost all of the 150,000 endangered sea turtles that drown in shrimp nets each year. To comply, the Clinton administration issued new standards that will be impossible to monitor and enforce. The sea turtle will slip closer to extinction as a result. Make Trade Clean, Green, and Fair! A responsible trade policy would open markets and protect the environment -- not put our health A responsible trade policy would open markets and pro-tect the en-vironment -- not put our health and natural heritage at risk. To make trade clean, green, and fair, Sierra Club is urging the Clinton administration to take executive action to: * fix current trade rules so that they no longer undermine environmental and health standards; *open the WTO and US trade policymaking to citizen participation; *and conduct a thorough, objective, and participatory environmental assessment of the WTO. Get Involved! Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper calling on President Clinton to make trade clean, green, and fair. Organize a local Responsible Trade Committee. Join our network by sending your contact information to margrete.strand@sierraclub.org. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club |
The WTO has also proven that it is a threat to clean air. In 1996, a WTO dispute panel
ruled against the US clean gasoline program designed to reduce smog pollution from cars
and trucks. To comply with the decision, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
issued weaker standards for the program that even it admitted would "...result...in
dirtier U.S. air."