By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, WASHINGTON (AP)
The Clinton administration took step Monday that will subject future trade agreements to tougher environmental reviews, maintaining that free trade and environmental protection can go hand in hand. "When it comes to trade and the environment we don't have to choose one or the other," U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky said in releasing the draft guidelines that follow a presidential executive order last fall.
President Clinton in November directed the government to assess the environmental impacts of future trade deals. At the time, the administration was hoping to blunt criticism of upcoming negotiations by the World Trade Organization in Seattle aimed at launching a new round of global trade negotiations. Thousands of demonstrators came to Seattle in December to highlight their arguments that the WTO does not consider the impact of trade agreements on the environment or worker rights. The WTO discussions ended in failure when the 135 nations could not agree on an agenda for a new round of trade talks.
Daniel Seligman, director of the Responsible Trade Program for the Sierra Club , said the administration's procedures are a good first step but did not go far enough. "The administration has clearly felt our pain and has decided to do something about it," he said. "But there are some major holes in this proposal." Seligman said there is no requirement that the draft texts of future trade agreements be released to the public, making it "impossible for the public to provide adequate comment."
The proposed guidelines will be published Tuesday in the Federal Register and the administration will seek public comment on them at hearings Aug. 2 and 3 in Washington. George T. Frampton Jr., acting chairman of the president's Council on Environmental Quality, said the administration hoped to have the new guidelines in place soon. He said that implementation of the November executive order remains a "high priority" of both Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, who made the initial announcement that the administration would require environmental reviews of future trade agreements. Gore, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, has come under attack from environmental activists for his support of the administration's trade liberalization policies.
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