space Press Releases, News Stories

by Coalition Press Release

"The WTO has binding rules that jeopardize strong health and environmental protections," said Patti Goldman, Managing Attorney of Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. "This threat is not hypothetical. The WTO has a perfect anti-environmental record - 3 challenges to health and environmental laws and 3 losses for the environment."

"The rules have been written by polluters for polluters," said Jim Puckett, Coordinator of the Basel Action Network (BAN). "Already the earth is suffering from a toxics crisis, yet in shocking antipathy to this fact, WTO agreements not only seek to increase global consumption of some of the world's worst killer chemicals, they make it very difficult to ban them and replace them with safer alternatives."

"People of color, low income communities, and developing countries all over the world have historically been the world's dumping ground of industry and toxic waste. The so-called free trade of the WTO will only give corporations more freedom to increase their toxic apartheid in the United States and abroad," said Kristine Wong, Program Director of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice.

"Even before WTO officials descend upon Seattle, the WTO is here in our own backyard threatening state and local policies desperately needed to protect health and the environment. Washington State plans to phase out persistent poisons like dioxins and mercury could easily be challenged by a foreign government as violating WTO agreements, for example," said Carol Dansereau, Executive Director of the Washington Toxics Coalition. "The Clinton-Gore Administration needs to stand up for clean water and democracy, not attack them in the name of free trade."

Among the reports' findings:

* The American Electronics Association of which Microsoft is a prominent member has asked the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) office to lobby against European draft legislation that will phase-out toxic substances from computers and electronic equipment, claiming that the legislation violates WTO rules.

* At the behest of the chemicals, plastics, electronics, and food processing industries, the United States, making use of WTO rules, has led the charge to deny consumers the right to know what they are buying and how environmentally destructive it might be through eco-labeling.

* The recent discovery that Puget Sound's Orca population is among the most contaminated mammal group on earth (ie. by PCBs) is symptomatic of government failure to implement the Precautionary Principle with respect to the introduction of new chemicals. The WTO rules ensure not only that the Precautionary Principle will not be recognized, but also prevents bans and phase-out of future contaminants.

* The United States' has already won its WTO dispute against the European ban on artificial hormones in beef. There is significant evidence to support that artificial hormones can cause cancer, but the US claims that there is no proof that this is really so. Europeans stand on the precautionary principle has been ruled as unscientific. Yet many scientists believe that the Precautionary Principle is the most rigorous policy approach to scientific uncertainty.

* Tobacco Products are the 5th highest pass-through export through the port of Seattle as they make their way to Asian markets. The USTR office of the United States has threatened many Asian countries via WTO rules if they did not open up their markets to US tobacco companies looking to expand. While the US cracks down on the export of cancer, they are busy marketing it abroad.

* WTO rules may threaten the international effort to stem the tide of toxic waste trade particularly that flowing from rich to poor countries. While 100 countries have banned the import of hazardous wastes, and there is currently a treaty banning such trade, the WTO rules conflict with these global efforts at environmental justice.

* On the Schedule of Advanced Trade Liberalization (AT) agreements, is the chemical sector, the largest trade sector of the United States, amounting to around 80 billion dollars each year in US exports. This liberalization will mean more global consumption and thus pollution from toxic chemicals. Among those chemicals slated for tariff reductions are chemicals banned in developed countries including lead, asbestos, DDT, CFCs, tetra-ethyl lead and ethylene dibromide.

* The Chemical Sector Advisory Committee to the USTR is made up of 34 Chemical company representatives and not one member from an environmental or other civil society organization. According to the USTR office they know of no discussion ever taking place on the environmental impacts of liberalizing trade in chemicals, including banned chemicals.

* A proposal to enlarge the scope of the WTO to include investment liberalization such as already exists in NAFTA would provide polluters with the right of direct action against governments which take restrictive actions which might impact their profits. This is a direct affront and challenge to the polluter pays principle. This has already been born out numerous since NAFTA was adopted.

* The United States has allowed the importation of foods with cancer-causing pesticide residues, due to fear of trade rules violations, even though the residues are inconsistent with U.S. health standards.

For more information contact:

Patti Goldman, Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund, Phone(206) 343-7340

Jim Puckett, Asia Pacific Environmental Exchange (APEX), Basel Action Network (BAN) Phone/fax(206) 720-6426

Beverley Thorpe, Clean Computer Campaign, Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, Phone(408) 287-6707

Carol Dansereau, Washington Toxics Coalition, (206) 632-1545

Kristine Wong, Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, (206) 720-0285

The reports are available at: www.ban.org and www.earthjustice.org