Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2002
Status
Accepted
Abstract
This Article explains and appraises the WTO law of Processes and Production Methods (“PPMs”). A better understanding of the law and of how PPMs operate can help governments and stakeholders improve the management of outwardly directed PPMs. Governments presently have divergent views about WTO rules. These diverging views have led to an inside-out debate from which a political consensus cannot easily emerge. This Article examines the relevant WTO case law on the issue of PPMs and concludes that PPMs are, contrary to some commentators, not prohibited by the WTO. Finally, the Article shows how a correct legal reading may enable new integrative solutions that resolve trade and environment tensions and establish a better framework for preventing inappropriate PPMs.
GW Paper Series
GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 2013-8; GWU Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2013-8
SSRN Link
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2221410
Recommended Citation
Steve Charnovitz, The Law of Environmental 'PPMs' in the WTO: Debunking the Myth of Illegality, 27 Yale J. Int'l L. 59 (2002).