Trade and the Environment

• The North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established three institutions to address environmental issues: the Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC), the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC) and the North American Development Bank (NADBank).
• The US-Mexico Border XXI Program, established under the BECC,  sets five-year objectives for achieving and sustaining a clean border environment.  Nine binational groups created through this program are now working to reduce emissions at border crossings, track transboundary shipments of hazardous wastes, and operate a US-Mexico Joint Response Team to minimize the risk of chemical accidents.
• The NAAEC was created to enhance intergovernmental cooperation in addressing important environmental issues such as border pollution, trade in hazardous wastes and climate change.  One of the main goals of the NAAEC is to ensure that the economic benefits attained from increased trade do not coincide with environmental degradation.
• Under the current agreement, the CEC does not have the power to enforce regulations against private companies.   The CEC does, however, have the power to publicize reviews of accused companies, with the hope that this public exposure will lead them to be more compliant.
• Thus far, negotiators of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, the FTAA have agreed to create a special committee that deals with the environment, labor rights and human rights.  At this point, there is no guarantee that environmental issues will be in the final draft of the FTAA agreement.