THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FREE TRADE

I am against the free trade for many the reasons some of which are perhaps not so obvious in everyday life but in the end will lead to what can be referred to as a ‘tragedy of the commons’ affecting the global community. From 1995 WTO has managed and supervised liberalization of international trade by working to reduce trade barriers. It provides the framework and the platform for member countries to negotiate and formalize trade agreements. It enforces compliance and regulates international trade between participating members. Under WTO the belonging 155 member countries have agreed to reduce and eliminate controls of products that are imported or exported by their countries. Members are obligated to sign and ratify all of WTO agreements. Removal of trade barriers and trade competition have led to environmental degradation caused by over exploitation and abuse of earth resources because while some WTO member nations are bound to reduce environmental degradation as signatories of i.e. The Kyoto agreement to reduce CO2 emissions, other WTO members are non-signatories of the Kyoto. One can use the current examples of China VS European Union members (EU). Under the Kyoto protocol the EU has been working to reduce CO2 emissions which impacts revenue and profit of the industries in the sense that companies have to face abatement costs during the time of the economic crisis. China on the otherhand, has had the advantage of being the non signatory of the Kyoto protocol and of being a member of WTO by ensuring exponential growth at the expense to the environment. Without the restrictions of trade, blatant exploitation of the environment will lead to major disasters that will pale in comparison to the damage done on the Ozone layer by the previous CFC productions. The externalization of costs to the environment and communities will exacerbate climate change as predicted by climate change scientific models (temperature rise of between 1.4 °C and 5.8 °C ) with the related impacts. If free trade is to be made sustainable there are some important steps that have to be done and that includes; 1. Centralizing Environmental governance policies i.e. The Basel convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, The convention on Biological Diversity, The convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) , The convention on Migratory Species (CMS) , The UN convention to combat desertification (UNCCD) , The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ,The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, The Vienna Convention to Protect the Ozone Layer and The Montreal Protocol of the Vienna Convention in order to avoid policies contradictions. 2. Building an ultimate global partnership for sustainable development by merging WTO trade policies with environmental governance policies in order to remove loop holes e.g. for WTO members who are non-signatories of the environmental policies. 3. Creating categories of WTO free trade products and thereafter indicating specific environmental policies that should apply for each category. 4. Embracing CSR matrix principles – People, Planet, Profit within WTO free trade rules. 5. Making side payments to WTO developing nations to meet the environmental standards required /or costs incurred while meeting the standards. 6. Agriculture is the backbone of the economy therefore agricultural subsidies to be given only on WTO level for the purpose of subsidizing farmers to meet the criteria for organic farming and other required environmental standards so as to promote sustainability for farmers as well as for the agricultural products ,instead of the current situation whereby subsidies are given in consideration of national interest. Immediate positive impacts will be reflected in public health and the environment. 7. Sponsoring institutional capacity building where knowledge is lacking. i.e. Sustainable farming, technology etc.