Environmental requirements for imported products
environmental concerns or disguised protectionism?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5380/dma.v66i.97088Keywords:
green protectionism, environmental indicators, international trade, regulatory analysisAbstract
This study examines trade‐related environmental measures adopted by World Trade Organization members and assesses their outcomes using Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) indicators. It draws on notifications from the WTO Environmental Database for 2009–2021 and on OECD‐Stat metrics for 2012–2019. Each notification is classified by measure type, sector and environmental objective, tracing trends among major issuers such as the United States, the European Union, Australia, China and Canada. Results show that the agricultural and manufacturing sectors account for the largest share of measures, while technical regulations and subsidies are the most prevalent instruments. Evaluations of PM₂.₅ exposure, greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy share and environmental policy stringency reveal that countries issuing numerous environmental notifications generally achieve better environmental performance, although variations arise according to development status and policy design. Nations with stricter requirements have demonstrated improvements in their indicators, implying that import regulations form part of a comprehensive green policy rather than solely protectionist intent. China is notable for advancing its indicators despite persistent pollution and emission challenges.
References
Ahmed, K. Environmental policy stringency, related technological change and emissions inventory in 20 OECD countries. Journal of Environmental Management, 274(111209), 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111209. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Bellelli, F. S.; Xu, A. How do environmental policies affect green innovation and trade? WTO Working Papers. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2022. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10640-024-00898-3. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Cheng, J.; Tong, D.; Zhang, Q.; Pathways of China’s PM₂.₅ air quality 2015–2060 in the context of carbon neutrality. National Science Review, 8(12), nwab078, 2021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwab078. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Estevo, J. S. dos. China in the context of climate change: foreign negotiations and domestic policies. Desafíos, 32(1), 1–15, 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/desafios/a.7682. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
European Environment Agency (EEA). Climate change mitigation: reducing emissions. 2024a. Available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/climate-change-mitigation-reducing-emissions. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
European Environment Agency (EEA). EEA: trends and projections – EU greenhouse gas emissions continue to fall. 2024b. Available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/eea-trends-and-projections. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
Ferreira, L. C. da; Barbi, F. Questões ambientais e prioridades políticas na China. ComCiência, 137, 1–25, 2012. Available at: https://www.dicyt.com/noticia/questoes-ambientais-e-prioridades-politicas-na-china.
Lahiani, A.; Mefteh-Wali, S.; Shahbaz, M.; Vo, X. V. Does financial development influence renewable energy consumption to achieve carbon neutrality in the USA? Energy Policy, 158(112524), 2021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2021.112524. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Lim, A. H.; Mathur, S.; Suk, G. Trade and environment: what can we learn from trade policy reviews? (ERSD-2020-06; WTO Staff Working Paper). Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2020. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd202006_e.pdf. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Ma, T.; Wang, Y. Globalization and environment: effects of international trade on emission intensity reduction of pollutants causing global and local concerns. Journal of Environmental Management, 297 (113249), 2021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113249. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Mendonça, L. M. de. O conceito de desenvolvimento sustentável: ressignificação pela lógica de acumulação de capital e suas práticas. Espaço e Economia, 15, 1–18, 2019. Available at: https://doi.org/10.4000/espacoeconomia.7674. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Monteiro, J. A.; Trachtman, J. P. Environmental laws. In: Mattoo, A.; Rocha, N.; Ruta, M. Handbook of Deep Trade Agreements. Washington, DC: World Bank, p. 279–318, 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-1539-3_ch11. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Morosini, F. C.; Niencheski, L. Z. A relação entre os tratados multilaterais ambientais e os acordos da OMC: é possível conciliar o conflito? Revista de Direito Internacional, 11(2), 150–167, 2014. Available at: https://www.publicacoesacademicas.uniceub.br/rdi/article/view/3082. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
OECD. Environment at a Glance Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2025. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/ac4b8b89-en. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
OCDE. Environmental statistics, accounts and indicators: Environment at a Glance Indicators (database). 2023. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/environmental-statistics-accounts-and-indicators.html. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
OECD. Green Growth Indicators 2017. Paris: OECD, 2017. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264268586-en. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
OECD. Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment. Paris: OECD, 2021a.
OECD. Environmental Strategy for the First Decade of the 21st Century. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development, 2001.
OECD. OECD Work on Trade and the Environment. Paris: OECD, 2021b. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/env/Retrospective-Trade-Environment.pdf. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
OECD. Towards Green Growth: monitoring progress. Paris: OECD, 2011. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264111356-en. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Pereira, A. O. K.; Horn, L. F. D. R. Relações de consumo: meio ambiente. Caxias do Sul, RS: Educs, 2009. Available at: https://fundacao.ucs.br/site/midia/arquivos/RC_MEIO_AMBIENTE_EBOOK.pdf. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Pontes, N. P. A União Europeia e as mudanças climáticas: os principais desafios políticos, geográficos e socioeconômicos para a transição energética do Bloco. São Paulo, Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Bacharelado em Relações Internacionais) – Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2023.
Pui, D. Y. H.; Chen, S.-C.; Zuo, Z. PM₂.₅ in China: measurements, sources, visibility and health effects, and mitigation. Particuology, 13, 1–26, 2014. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2013.11.001. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Sambuichi, R. H. R.; Oliveira, M. Â. C. de; Silva, A. P. M. da; Luedemann, G. A sustentabilidade ambiental da agropecuária brasileira: impactos, políticas públicas e desafios. Texto para Discussão, 1782. Brasília: IPEA, 2012.
Steinfatt, K. Trade policies for a circular economy: what can we learn from WTO experience? (ERSD-2020-10; WTO Staff Working Paper). Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2020. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd202010_e.htm. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Thorstensen, V. H.; Mota, C. R.; Corrêa, R. de O. Comércio e sustentabilidade. In: Nogueira, T. R. S. M. (Org.). Cadernos de normas voluntárias de sustentabilidade. São Paulo: VT Assessoria Consultoria e Treinamento LTDA, 2018. Available at: http://www.inmetro.gov.br/barreirastecnicas/pdf/INMETRO.Caderno._Vol._1._NVS.pdf. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
UNCTAD. International classification of non‐tariff measures: 2019 version. Geneva: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2019.
Vavrova, K. Environmental indicators. SHS Web of Conferences, 83(01070), 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20208301070. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Wang, Q.; Zhang, F. The effects of trade openness on decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth – evidence from 182 countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 279(123838), 2021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123838. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Wang, Y.; Sun, X.; Guo, X. Environmental regulation and green productivity growth: empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from OECD industrial sectors. Energy Policy, 132, 611–619, 2019. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.016. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
WTO. Notification: G/SPS/N/EU/58 - Draft Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2013. Available at: http://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2013/sps/EEC/13_4369_00_e.pdf. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
WTO. World Trade Report 2022: climate change and international trade. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2022. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/wtr22_e/wtr22_e.pdf. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
WTO. Climate change and international trade. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2023. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/wtr22_e/wtr22_e.pdf. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
WTO. Environmental Database (EDB). Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2024b. Available at: https://edb.wto.org/. Accessed on May 2, 2024.
WTO. Notification G/SCM/N/372/AUS. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2021b. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/FE_S_S009-DP.aspx?language=E&CatalogueIdList=277963&CurrentCatalogueIdIndex=0&FullTextHash=&HasEnglishRecord=True&HasFrenchRecord=True&HasSpanishRecord=True. Accessed on September 26, 2024.
WTO. Notification G/TBT/N/BRA/1277. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2021a. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/FE_S_S009-DP.aspx?language=E&CatalogueIdList=278261. Accessed on September 26, 2024.
WTO. Trade and environment. Geneva: World Trade Organization, 2024a. Available at: https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc13_e/briefing_notes_e/environment_e.htm. Accessed on May 30, 2025.
Xu, Z.; Chau, N. H.; Li, M.; Liu, W.; Ni, R.; Liu, J. Impacts of international trade on global sustainable development. Nature Sustainability, 3(11), 964–971, 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0572-z. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
Yamaguchi, S. International trade and circular economy – policy alignment. OECD Trade and Environment Working Papers, No. 2021/02. Paris: OECD Publishing, 2021. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/ae4a2176-en. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
Yue, H.; Liu, Z.; Li, Y.; Zhao, Y.; Xing, J.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Q.; Zheng, Y.; Tong, D.; He, K. Stronger policy required to substantially reduce deaths from PM2.5 pollution in China. Nature Communications, 11(1462), 2020. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15319-4. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
Zugravu-Soilita, N. Trade in environmental goods and air pollution: a mediation analysis to estimate total, direct and indirect effects. Environmental and Resource Economics, 74(3), 1125–1162, 2019. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-019-00344-w. Accessed on August 6, 2025.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Michelle Marcia Viana Martins, Maria Rita Anastácio Rodrigues
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright on works published in this journal rests with the author, with first publication rights for the journal. The content of published works is the sole responsibility of the authors. DMA is an open access journal and has adopted the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Not Adapted (CC-BY) license since January 2023. Therefore, when published by this journal, articles are free to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercial) and adapt (remix, transform, and create from the material for any purpose, even commercial). You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license and indicate if changes have been made.
The contents published by DMA from v. 53, 2020 to v. 60, 2022 are protected by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.
DMA has been an open access journal since its creation, however, from v.1 of 2000 to v. 52 of 2019, the journal did not adopt a Creative Commons license and therefore the type of license is not indicated on the first page of the articles.
