International Trade and Labor and Environmental Standards - Essay Example

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND LABOR AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS Introduction It is increasingly being acknowledged over time that the gap (if any) between trade, labor as well as environment is narrow because the three are actually interrelated in one way or another. In fact, the relationship between trade, environment as well as labor is so complex that its analysis takes one far beyond just mere debates on whether environmental and labor standards are to be enforced through sanctions in trade and or by trade agreements. Nevertheless, one fact that must be acknowledged is that trade plays a significant positive role through raising living standards of people and hence directly and indirectly affecting labor as well as environmental standards globally. Research studies by such organizations as the World Bank show that trade triggers and supports growth of economies producing growing middle class citizens in the countries (Rose, para 1-7). The two (economic growth as well as middle class population) motivate these countries to uphold environmental conservation and management as well as improve labor standards. This paper therefore intends to conduct a qualitative analysis of facts and features in international trade, labor as well as environmental standards as they are in the current day by use of available literature. Discussion Literature shows that trade agreements in international trade especially by developed and emerging economies promote economic opportunities within the emerging countries, which alleviate living standards of workers within the countries (Neary, 96). The trade agreements by the developed countries like the US provide opportunities for economic performance for indigenous industries as well as workers. Besides, the negotiations of such countries within the international trade front have been associated with improved labor standards within other countries hence the interrelation between trade (international trade), labor and issues of environmental conservation and management. Analysts as well as policy makers take a leading role in the investigating and explaining how international trade interacts with environment. For instance, a very recent debate on whether trade should be liberalized triggered the conclusions that liberalization is likely to cause increased industrial emissions whose effects are detrimental to the general environment. This on the other hand set the platform for discussion on whether tightening environmental and trade policies should be encouraged for compensation of such changes as would result from the policy changes. Besides, there has also been a growing interest in linking environmental policy and regulation efforts as well as international competitiveness especially in trade. Such debates within the European Union have been associated with reduced competitiveness in trade and industrial manufacturing because of heightened environmental regulation. Accordingly, the report by Neary (96) shows that such reduced competitiveness by increased regulation would lead to de-industrialization as well as carbon leakage because polluting industries would physically relocated internationally. This would therefore be detrimental not only to the host country but also to the international community as the effect of environmental pollution is not restricted only within a country’s borders. The effects of such an outcome would be shift of environmental degradation costs and shifting of benefits over industrial agglomeration for the foreign locations. This effect would spill to the society and the individual labor as they are directly influenced by industrial operations within the country. Stringent environmental regulatory frameworks have characterized international trade in the recent past decades. Xu (233-250) carried out an empirical study on the effects of domestic policies as influential to the competitiveness of ESG (environmentally sensitive goods). The time series evidence produced indicate no definite systematic changes for the patterns of trade with ESGs noted within developed economies, which were characterized with increased changes in regulation especially within the 1980s and 1990s after designing and imposition of such strict environmental policies. The application of the test over many countries indicate that more stringent regulations on the environment have no direct cause to reduction in all exports, the exports of ESGs as well as export of non resource based ESGs. This would therefore be interpreted to imply that such stringent trade regulation have no association to trade barriers not only to developed economies but also to the emerging economies. Much of debates on trade have been centered on the effects of domestic policy framework and the effects towards local trade as well as the international trade. The ‘race to bottom’ model has been among other frameworks that have been developed for this particular analysis. This triggers the discussion of whether international trade relations with a country, which has lower environmental standards would influence the domestic country towards lowering its standards through domestic political pressures or otherwise liberalize domestic environmental standards in order to accommodate the domestic industries. Another model to be analyzed is the ‘pollution haven’ hypothesis, which compares the trade relations between countries observing differing environmental standards. The main concern is that of whether the countries governed by lower environmental regulatory framework has a potential of developing comparative advantage over the trade partners who observes stringent standards in environmental management. However, there is another concern on whether the disparity in the standards have any effect on quality and hence competitiveness of the products produced within the low-regulation economies as viewed by the high-regulation countries (Xu 234). Finally, a more sensitive concern that emerges dominantly over this discussion is the possibility of eco-dumping, which has very sensitive repercussions on international trade as well as the environmental management and conservation. The lack of ‘level playing field’ as is the definition of such trade relations between countries with different regulatory frameworks is termed as ‘unfair trade’. These among other fears therefore call for harmonized environmental standards and regulatory framework in order to observe a healthy interaction between countries who are trading partners and who would pursue a common course in management and conservation of the environemnt. The concerns raised have a relation to industrial competitiveness as is basic within international relations especially on trade as influenced by environmental standards. Another sensitive area that has been in analysis over environment is the issue about labor and environmental management. The late twentieth century was characterized by strategic alignment of labor movements and unions with more elaborate efforts being sighted towards labor-environmentalist movements. Silverman (119-130) carried out a study on the sustainability of labor alliances as well as the evolution of ‘international labor environmentalism’. According to the report, trade unionists at the international front have been very conscious on environmental issues and developed frameworks that esteem principles of solidarity, between workers and nature, protecting the health and safety of individual workers, environments as well as communities within which they work. Environmentalists, trade unionists as well as solidarity activists have therefore met the effects of globalization with enthusiasm and this has had political effects between countries and more so the trading collaborates. Intellectual change and political experiences have been shown to have triggered constitution of alliances between labor unions and environmentalists for the common goal towards improved environment management and conservation. This therefore shows the critical role that labor plays towards improving the relationship between humans and the natural world with efforts by labor unions to collaborate with environmentalists towards proper institutions of regulation standards and policies meant to oversee effective and efficient management of natural ecosystems. The intertwining of labor efforts with the efforts by environmentalists to develop labor based sustainable environmental versions have played a critical role in trade relations within many countries with trade unions taking a leading role in environmental management activities (Silverman, 119). The efforts by the UN and other international labor confederations towards issues of environment dates back many decades and have been seen to play a significant role in development and enforcement of international trade and labor standards of environmental management. The issue of ecological management cannot be evaluated independently without incorporating the effects of trade and the policies that have been developed to oversee the management of environment. An industrial operation, which brings together the effects of labor, plays a significant role in dictating the direction the management of ecosystems and the environment at large takes. Besides nations having own frameworks and policies towards holding labor and trade institutions accountable for management of the natural environment, the international community have instituted relevant frameworks, which involve the international trade players as well as labor unions in management of the environment. Sovereign countries therefore ascribe to the mix of frameworks and standards that are relevant in management of the environment and the related effects that affect the ecosystem. It is also acknowledged that many (if not all) countries have distinct government departments that are concerned with ensuring environmental management not only by individual citizens but also by trading entities within the country. Conclusion The discussion above reveals that environmental management practices by individual nations as well as at the international front brings on board concerted efforts by the trading partners as well as by the labor force. Various standards that have been crafted by individual countries as well as at the international level guide in management of international trade, labor as well as the environment. However, understanding the interaction between the three has been aided by evaluating the historical and the current situation as presented by literature. Among other findings that have been made in this report is that the environment, trade as well as labor have some form of intersection and therefore the standards and policies in governing either must be related to the other(s). This is because the concerns of labor are directly related to industrial practices, which on the other hand influences trade practices, not only locally but also internationally. Besides, it is worth noting that environmental management practices takes direct association with industrial manufacturing hence the interrelation between the three factors. Literature by Neary, Xu as well as Silverman has been used within the above analysis in the theme of international trade, labor as well as environmental standards. Works cited Neary, J. P. "International Trade and the Environment: Theoretical and Policy Linkages." Environmental and Resource Economics 33.1 (2006): 95-118. ProQuest. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. Rose, Fred. "Labor-Environmental Coalitions." Working USA 6.4 (2003): 51. ProQuest. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. Silverman, Victor. "Sustainable Alliances: The Origins of International Labor Environmentalism." International Labor and Working Class History 66 (2004): 118-35. ProQuest. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. Xu, Xinpeng. "International Trade and Environmental Regulation: Time Series Evidence and Cross Section Test." Environmental and Resource Economics 17.3 (2000): 233-57. ProQuest. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. Read More