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By Neil Franz, Chemical Week WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A, 15 August 2001 -- Failed legal action and presidential politics have forced U.S. chemical leaders to give up their effort to prevent an environmentalist from joining an all-industry panel that advises White House officials on chemical trade. The industry recently dropped a lawsuit to block a change at the panel, despite its continued opposition (CW, Aug. 8, p. 12). An environmentalist could prevent the Industry Sector Advisory Committee (ISAC) for chemicals from obtaining the unanimous votes necessary to advise the Bush Administration on drafting international trade agreements, business sources say. The chemicals ISAC is preparing for a possible new round of talks at the World Trade Organizations (WTO; Geneva), which may begin in November, that would discuss terms for allowing more countries to join a global chemical agreement to lower import tariffs. The ISAC also will advise the administration on terms for a possible Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). An environmental group representative on the panel could "render the achievement of any consensus practically impossible," and "would diminish the quality of advice available to U.S. negotiators," ISAC chair and DuPont chief international counsel Geoffrey Gamble said in a letter last year to Clinton Administration officials. Senator Charles Grassley (R., IA) last month ordered the General Accounting Office to launch an investigation, which the industry supports, into the potential effects of the change to the ISAC. Grassley cites potential problems for WTO and FTAA negotiators as a reason for the inquiry. Stephen Porter, a trade attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL; Washington) is serving as a temporary environmentalist on the chemical ISAC -- one of 17 ISACs that advise mainly the Commerce Department and the office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. CIEL and other major environmental organizations, as well as at least one member of Congress, are pushing the White House to permanently appoint Rick Hind, legislative director/toxics at Greenpeace. Hind is a vocal critic of the chemical industry, particularly producers of polyvinyl chloride plastics. Hind is also a strong supporter of environmental groups' efforts to mandate reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases and persistent organic pollutants, such as dioxin. Hind was nominated for the panel by Indianapolis attorney Gordon Durnil, a Republican and author of The Making of a Conservative Environmentalist. Durnil was appointed in the late 1980s by former President George Bush to serve as chairman of the International Joint Commission (Washington), an environmental agency set up by Canada and the U.S. Hind also is supported by Representative Barbara Lee (D., CA). Hind says he has no intention of blocking the ISAC's decisions. He adds that he will take a "reasoned approach," and examine trade matters on a case-by-case basis. The ISAC dispute began in 2000 when Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund (San Francisco) [BAN Note: And the Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange and several other organizations] sued the Clinton Administration in the U.S. District Court in Seattle. Earthjustice argued that the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 requires that an environmental representative be included in the ISAC for chemicals and allied products (table). Clinton officials said they would fight the lawsuit, but reversed course and sought to settle out of court. This shift of position was done to appease environmental groups, which had opposed former President Clinton's effort to win congressional passage of a bill granting permanent U.S. trade relations status to China, say sources. TEAM PLAYERS MEMBERS OF CHEMICAL ISAC COMPANIES Bristol-Myers ASSOCIATIONS ACC ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS CIEL (Interim) Source: Commerce Department. Gamble then filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, arguing that the all-industry membership was permitted by terms of the Trade Act of 1974. But the Bush Administration settled with Earthjustice in March, and separately the court rejected industry's suit. Zoellick also settled to appease environmental groups, who oppose President Bush's push for legislation granting Bush fast-track trade negotiating authority, says Gamble. The industry will not appeal the court's decision, says Gamble, because it could sour relations between industry and trade officials, particularly as they try to launch a new round of WTO negotiations. But, he says, Congress should pass legislation that rewrites the Trade Act to "clarify" its intentions for ISAC membership. GRAPHIC: Picture 1, no caption; Picture 2, Gamble: 'Clarify' intentions for ISAC; Picture 3, Hind: A seat at the industry's table? FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a `fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. 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