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Jargon Explained, Glossary of Terms Commonly Used in the WTO
From:  3D, Geneva

"This glossary is updated regularly – please let us know if there are any words you would like explained: info@3dthree.org"
http://www.3dthree.org/pdf_word/m311-3D%20Glossary%20July%202004%20rev.pdf  

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WTO Secretariat GLOSSARY OF TERMS
An informal guide to ‘WTO speak’
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min01_e/brief_e/brief22_e.htm

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Abbreviations from
Environment and Trade - A Handbook

The United Nations Environment Programme,
Division of Technology, Industry and Economics (Economics and Trade Unit)
and the International Institute for Sustainable Development

 

http://www.unep.ch/etu/etp/acts/aware/handbook.pdf

2000 All rights reserved

This is an excellent online trade and environment Handbook. In order to find information easily you may want to check below:

 

*    1.  Abbreviations

*    2.  Table of Contents

*    3.  Index

1.  Abbreviations


CBD Convention on Biological Diversity

CEC Commission for Environmental Cooperation

CFCs chlorofluorocarbons

CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

COP Conference of Parties

CTE Committee on Trade and Environment

DSB Dispute Settlement Body

DSM dispute settlement mechanism

DSU Dispute Settlement Understanding

EU European Union

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change

FDI foreign direct investment

GATS General Agreement on Trade in Services

GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GDP gross domestic product

GMO genetically modified organism

IEA international environmental agreement

ISO International Organization for Standardization

LCA life cycle analysis

LMO living genetically modified organism

MAI Multilateral Agreement on Investment

MEA multilateral environmental agreement

Mercosur Mercado Común del Sur (Southern Common Market:

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay)

MFN most-favoured nation

NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement (Canada, Mexico,

United States)

NGO non-governmental organization

OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development

PCBs polychlorinated biphenyls

PIC The Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent

Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides

in International Trade

POPs Convention on the Control of Persistent Organic Pollutants

PPMs process and production methods

PVP plant variety protection

R&D research and development

SPS Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

SRM standards-related measures

TBT Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

TRIMs Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures

TRIPS Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property

Rights

UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development

UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

UPOV International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties

of Plants

WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization

WTO World Trade Organization

2. Table of Contents (p. 9)

Preface vii

Acknowledgements viii

Abbreviations xi

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Global trends 1

1.2 Environment and trade linkages 2

1.3 Differing perspectives 3

2. International environmental management 7

2.1 Origins 7

2.2 Principles 8

2.3 National environmental management 10

2.4 Multilateral environmental agreements 11

2.4.1 Structure 11

2.4.2 The principal MEAs 13

2.4.3 Implementation and dispute settlement 15

2.4.4 Trade measures in MEAs 16

3. The basics of the WTO 21

3.1 Structure of the World Trade Organization 21

3.1.1 The Committee on Trade and Environment 24

3.2 Functions of the WTO 26

3.3 The core principles 26

3.4 The key agreements, with a special consideration of those related to the environment 27

3.4.1 The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994 27

3.4.2 The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade 31

3.4.3 The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 31

3.5 Other agreements 32

3.6 Regional trade agreements 32

3.7 Dispute settlement 32

4. Physical and economic linkages 35

4.1 Product effects 35

4.2 Scale effects 36

4.3 Structural effects 39

5. Legal and policy linkages 41

5.1 Environmental standards and process and production methods 41

5.2 Environmental standards and competitiveness 44

5.3 Environmental standards, science and precaution 45

5.4 Ecolabelling and environmental management system 46

certification programs

5.4.1 Ecolabels 47

5.4.2 Environmental management system certification 47

5.4.3 Ecolabels, EMS certification and international trade 48

5.5 Subsidies 49

5.6 Agriculture 51

5.7 Intellectual property rights 53

5.7.1 TRIPS and the Convention on Biological Diversity 55

5.7.2 TRIPS and agriculture 56

5.8 Investment 57

5.9 Government procurement 59

5.10 MEAs and the WTO 60

6. Institutional issues 67

6.1 Openness in trade policy-making 67

6.2 Environmental assessment of trade agreements 69

7. Environmental aspects of regional trade agreements 73

7.1 The North American Free Trade Agreement 73

7.1.1 Investment: Chapter 11 73

7.1.2 Standards: Chapters 7 and 9 74

7.1.3 International environmental agreements: Chapter 104   75

7.2 The European Union 75

7.3 Mercosur 77

8. Conclusion 79

3.  Index (p. 81)

Agriculture 51

Amicus curiae briefs 68

Basel Convention 13, 16

Beef hormones case 33

Biosafety protocol (see Cartagena Biosafety Protocol)

Cartagena Biosafety Protocol 14, 17

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 12, 13, 16

Committee on Trade and Environment (in WTO) 24

Common but differentiated responsibility 9

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) 14

and TRIPs 55

Dispute settlement, in MEAs 15

Dispute settlement, in WTO 32

Document derestriction, in WTO 67

Ecolabels 46

and government procurement 60

Efficiency, trade-related 37

Environmental impact assessment of trade 69

Environmental management system certification 46

and government procurement 60

Environmental standards 10

and competitiveness 44

and PPMs 41

and precaution 45

European Union 75

Framework Convention on Climate Change 14

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 27, 21

Article I 27

Article III 27

Article XI 29

Article XX 29

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) 53, 49

Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) 60

Government procurement 59

Informal innovation 55

International environmental agreements

(see multilateral environmental agreements)

Investment 57

in NAFTA 73

ISO 14001 48, 39

Least-trade-restrictive test

in the WTO 29

in NAFTA 74

Life-cycle analysis 11

Like products 27, 26, 43

Mercosur 77

Montreal Protocol 13, 61

Most-favoured nation 28, 26

Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) 58

Multilateral environmental agreements 11

and NAFTA 75

and WTO rules 60

as an alternative to PPMs 44

trade measures in 16, 60

dispute settlement in 15

NAFTA 73

National treatment 28, 26

Necessity test

in the WTO 29

in NAFTA 74

Non-discrimination 27, 26

Openness 9

in trade policy-making 67

Patents 55, 57

Perverse subsidies (see subsidies)

PIC Convention (see Rotterdam Convention)

Polluter-pays principle 9

Pollution havens 44

POPs Convention 15

Precaution 45

Precautionary principle 9, 45

in NAFTA 74

in the SPS Agreement 31

Prevention principle 8

Principles of environmental management 8

Process and production methods (PPMs) 41

non-product-related, defined 42

product-related, defined 42

and ecolabels, EMS certification 46

Product effects, of trade on environment 47

Regional trade agreements 73

GATT exception for 32

Rotterdam (PIC) Convention 14, 17

Scale effects, of trade on environment 36

Science, role of (see precaution)

Shrimp-turtle case 30

and amicus curiae briefs 68

Sovereignty, and PPMs 44

Structural effects, of trade on environment 39

Subsidiarity 9

Subsidies 49, 39

and agriculture 51

Sui generis systems of intellectual property protection 56

Sustainable development 7

as a WTO principle 27

Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement 31

Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement 53

and the Convention on Biological Diversity 55

and agriculture 56

Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) Agreement 58

Traditional knowledge 55

Transparency (see Openness)

UPOV Convention 56

WTO

    structure of 21

    principles of 26

    functions of 26