Fins-SD-18
White House Executive Order, Environmental Review of Trade
Agreements (Nov 1999)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release November 16, 1999
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW OF TRADE AGREEMENTS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and
the laws of the United States of America, and in order to further the
environmental and trade policy goals of the United States, it is hereby
ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. The United States is committed to a policy of
careful assessment and consideration of the environmental impacts of
trade agreements. The United States will factor environmental
considerations into the development of its trade negotiating objectives.
Responsible agencies will accomplish these goals through a process of
ongoing assessment and evaluation, and, in certain instances, written
environmental reviews.
Sec. 2. Purpose and Need. Trade agreements should contribute to the
broader goal of sustainable development. Environmental reviews are an
important tool to help identify potential environmental effects of trade
agreements, both positive and negative, and to help facilitate
consideration of appropriate responses to those effects whether in the
course of negotiations, through other means, or both.
Sec. 3. (a) Implementation. The United States Trade Representative
(Trade Representative) and the Chair of the Council on Environmental
Quality shall oversee the implemen-tation of this order, including the
development of procedures pursuant to this order, in consultation with
appropriate foreign policy, environmental, and economic agencies.
(b) Conduct of Environmental Reviews. The Trade Representative,
through the interagency Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC), shall
conduct the environmental reviews of the agreements under section 4 of
this order.
Sec. 4. Trade Agreements.
(a) Certain agreements that the United States may negotiate shall
require an environmental review. These include:
(i) comprehensive multilateral trade rounds;
(ii) bilateral or plurilateral free trade agreements; and
(iii) major new trade liberalization agreements in natural resource
sectors.
(b) Agreements reached in connection with enforcement and dispute
resolution actions are not covered by this order.
(c) For trade agreements not covered under subsections 4(a) and (b),
environmental reviews will generally not be required. Most sectoral
liberalization agreements will not require an environmental review. The
Trade Representative, through the TPSC, shall determine whether an
environmental review of an agreement or category of agreements is
warranted based on such factors as the significance of reasonably
foreseeable environmental impacts.
Sec. 5. Environmental Reviews.
(a) Environmental reviews shall be:
(i) written;
(ii) initiated through a Federal Register notice, outlining the
proposed agreement and soliciting public comment and information on
the scope of the environmental review of the agreement;
(iii) undertaken sufficiently early in the process to inform the
development of negotiating positions, but shall not be a condition
for the timely tabling of particular negotiating proposals;
(iv) made available in draft form for public comment, where
practicable; and
(v) made available to the public in final form.
(b) As a general matter, the focus of environmental reviews will be
impacts in the United States. As appropriate and prudent, reviews may
also examine global and transboundary impacts.
Sec. 6. Resources. Upon request by the Trade Representative, with
the concurrence of the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of
Management and Budget, Federal agencies shall, to the extent permitted
by law and subject to the availability of appropriations, pro-vide
analytical and financial resources and support, including the detail of
appro-priate personnel, to the Office of the United States Trade
Representative to carry out the provisions of this order.
Sec. 7. General Provisions. This order is intended only to improve
the internal management of the executive branch and does not create any
right, benefit, trust, or responsibility, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its
agencies, its officers, or any person.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
November 16, 1999.
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