El medio ambiente en la minería

EL MEDIO AMBIENTE EN LA MINERIA 48 country, because of its particular circumstances, wishes to set less stringent environmental standards, it should be free to do so. Govemments, so the argument goes, should be free to set different environ– mental standards just as they establish different tax: and immigration policies without being aecosed ofseekingunfair advantage. Many people in developing countries wiIl add that a less pristine environment is part oC their comparative advantage, in any case preferable to poverty. But 1suspect that this may be a hotIy debated topie during the next few years. Many in business and elsewhere, especiaUy in developed countries, mayargue that the "environmenta! playing fleld" should be leveI, that anything eIse is unfair. And they aiso may argue that trade measures should be used to offset different environmental standards or to penalize non-adherence to interna– tionally agreed standards. This leads to a seoond question: to what extent should internationally reoog– nized standards -whether harmonized standards or mínimum standard&- be enforced by trade measures? In their recent report on trade and the environ– ment GAIT's eoonomists stated that trade measures are nol a preferred way of enforcing international standards. But some govemmentsmay take a different view. Indeed, sorne environmentaI agreements with limited membership already have incorporated dis– criminatory trade restrictions against non-signatories. The purpose generally appears to be either to prevent eircurnvention oC the agreement or to ereate an inducement Cor non-signatories to join. Sorne oC those provisions could raise difficult questions under the GATT.I say "could", because no case involving these provisions has been presented for dispute settlernent. At a laler date the group on environmental measures and intematíonal trade might wish to make reoommendations on this subject to a senior GATT body. A third question conceros the extent to wIDeh financia! and technologícal assistance should be transferred to developing countries to help them set and attain more stringent environmental standards. This is expected to be a key question at the Río "Earth Sununit" this June. It ís easy to see the competing considerations and arguments, but much more difficult to know just what the fight answer is. This is not, of course, a question for the GAIT to decide. There are other vital questions concerning the environment, questions whích nations must address but where GAIT has no role to play. When the subject, however, is trade and the environment GAIT clearly does have an important role. It is the primary intemational organization setting world trade rules.