Abstract
The adverse position and protests of civil society on economic globalization from the Seattle movement against the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in 1999 to Occupy Wall Street have been primarily fueled by the concerns for the negative consequences and effects that globalization might have, amongst the others, on environmental protection and labor rights. To let the international community better understand that economic liberalization is not merely aimed at ‘pure’ economic growth, it is necessary to take as a model that should be applied on a global scale the integration process of the European Union (EU). Since the establishment of the European Economic Community the four freedom of the Internal Market (people, services, capital and goods) have been essential to reach this objective. The EU is relying on the flexibility offered by the Art. XX of GATT 1994, and broadly the WTO framework to include under its trade policy what has been referred as Non-trade concerns (NTCs). NTCs seek to balance the excess that, a globalization too much focused on economic growth have created. The Regulation EU 995/2010, known as “EU-Timber Regulation” is a leading example of this approach. EUTR, in fact, prohibits the placing and use on the internal market of timber and timber products that come from illegal activities. The aim of the regulation is to enhance trough market restrictions environmental protection, the sustainable use of resources in the EU and abroad. Another example of this approach is the Free Trade Agreement ratified in 2015 with South Korea. The EU-South Korea FTA under its chapter 13 titled “Trade and Sustainable Development” calls for the protection of the environment and of labor rights. Further, the FTA explicitly refers to the discipline of the International Labor Organization (Article 13.4) and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Article 13.5). The EU should keep following this path to make clear its intention to distinguish between a globalization without a soul and a globalization that increase standard of living, quality of life and environmental protection. Economic sustainability and the inclusion of NTCs should be, therefore, founding values for the EU institutions and citizens.
Full PaperPaolo Davide Farah
Founder, President and Director
Professor Paolo Davide Farah is Founder, President and Director of gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives forSustainable Development, Associate Professor(with tenure) at West Virginia University, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences,John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration and “Internationally Renowned Professor/Distinguished Professor of Law” (Full Professor level) at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), Law School,Beijing, China.
Summary
The adverse position and protests of civil society on economic globalization from the Seattle movement against the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in 1999 to Occupy Wall Street have been primarily fueled by the concerns for the negative consequences and effects that globalization might have, amongst the others, on environmental protection and labor rights. To let the international community better understand that economic liberalization is not merely aimed at ‘pure’ economic growth, it is necessary to take as a model that should be applied on a global scale the integration process of the European Union (EU). Since the establishment of the European Economic Community the four freedom of the Internal Market (people, services, capital and goods) have been essential to reach this objective. The EU is relying on the flexibility offered by the Art. XX of GATT 1994, and broadly the WTO framework to include under its trade policy what has been referred as Non-trade concerns (NTCs). NTCs seek to balance the excess that, a globalization too much focused on economic growth have created. The Regulation EU 995/2010, known as “EU-Timber Regulation” is a leading example of this approach. EUTR, in fact, prohibits the placing and use on the internal market of timber and timber products that come from illegal activities. The aim of the regulation is to enhance trough market restrictions environmental protection, the sustainable use of resources in the EU and abroad. Another example of this approach is the Free Trade Agreement ratified in 2015 with South Korea. The EU-South Korea FTA under its chapter 13 titled “Trade and Sustainable Development” calls for the protection of the environment and of labor rights. Further, the FTA explicitly refers to the discipline of the International Labor Organization (Article 13.4) and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Article 13.5). The EU should keep following this path to make clear its intention to distinguish between a globalization without a soul and a globalization that increase standard of living, quality of life and environmental protection. Economic sustainability and the inclusion of NTCs should be, therefore, founding values for the EU institutions and citizens.
