World trade expansion has raised the issue of the relationship between trade and the environment. Is trade good or bad for the environment? The answer is not obvious. The production of goods that are imported and exported, like other production, will often have environmental effects.
Being a medium to link national economies, international trade per se is rarely the essential source of environmental problems. However, it can have negative effects, directly or indirectly, on the environment through its function to link demand and supply at the international level. These environmental effects can occur in the exporting country, importing country, or in the areas outside the trading countries (e.g. in the high seas, in a third country, on a global scale). In cases where an appropriate environmental policy is lacking, there can be negative environmental effects associated with increased transport, international movement of hazardous substances, etc. In such cases, effects that are more indirect can result from an increase in natural resource use and the emission of pollutants and wastes associated with the expansion of economic activities. Furthermore, international trade can lead to environmental degradation by weakening certain economic activities, such as agriculture and forestry, which have beneficial environmental conservation functions.
I would like to focus on two initiatives that companies are focusing on eco- labeling, packaging and recycling requirements. For example, eco-labeling programs for the dissemination of environmentally friendly products and the introduction of environment management systems by private firms have much to do with the issue of the environment and trade through their impact ...