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International Law, Industrial Location, And Pollution, Duane Chapman, Jean Agras, Vivek Suri

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The dominant position of economists on trade and environment is that

increasing trade raises living standards, which provide the economic

basis for reduced pollution. Professors Chapman, Agras, and Suri

present a perspective that raises very different points. First, the dramatic

growth of manufacturing in East Asia for global markets is

based entirely (or nearly so) on the importation of processed

pollution-intensive raw materials. For a typical product in this global

system, a U.S. consumer purchasing an Asian product made from

imported resources benefits from a lower price and a cleaner local

environment; however, energy use and pollution associated with the …

Environmental Standards Within Nafta: Difference By Design And The Retreat From Harmonization, Jeffrey Atik

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Professor Atik argues that NAFTA, in legitimating regulatory differences among the NAFTA parties, represents a repudiation of standard harmonization. He states that while NAFTA and its environmental side agreement "have been described as the 'greenest' trade agreement to date," it marks a significant retreatfrom efforts to harmonize global environmental standards. This rejection is a product of "ajealous retention of sovereignty" by the NAFTA parties, as well as the careful maintenance of the parties' distinct production roles and specialities. Thus, Professor Atik argues that a convergence of standards will likely remain elusive within NAFTA. Both highstandard and low-standard parties may prefer …

Customary (And Not So Customary) International Environmental Law, Daniel Bodansky

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

In this article, Professor Bodansky examines the creation and importance of customary international law. He suggests that the debate over the legal status of any given norm may be misplaced Instead, he suggests that international lawmakers should spend their time and energy incorporating norms, regardless of their true status, into "concrete treaties and actions." The author begins his discussion by providing a working definition of customary international law. He asserts that such law can be based not just on uniformities of state behavior, as is traditionally held, but also on regularities in behavior. Thus, customary international law can be formed …

The Puzzling Relationship Between Trade And Environment: Nafta, Competitiveness, And The Pursuit Of Environmental Welfare Objectives, Ileana M. Porras

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is often claimed to be a "promising beginning" for the reconciliation of trade and environment. Professor Porras, however, suggests that the form that "reconciliation" takes in NAFTA is extremely problematic. Harmonization of standards to facilitate the free flow of trade is a familiar trade goal. NAFTA's provisions regarding environmental standards, however, are not a straightforward requirement to harmonize standards. Rather, NAFTA recognizes state autonomy in standard setting, on the one hand, while requiring a form of upward harmonization, on the other. According to Professor Porras, the result of such an arrangement is the …

Introduction: International Environmental Law And Agencies: The Next Generation Symposium, Alfred C. Aman

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

No abstract provided.

Regional Environmental Law In The Americas: Assessing The Contractual Environment, Donna Lee Van Cott

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

No abstract provided.