NAFTA, CAFTA and the Environment: The Role of Institutions

• Main Author: Sherrie Baver
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Institut des Amériques 2011-09-01
• Series: IdeAs : Idées d’Amériques
• Subjects: CAFTA; environmental democracy; institutions; international trade; Mexico; NAFTA
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/ideas/73

After sifting through the various arguments on the trade-environment nexus, I argue that an underrated positive feature on NAFTA (1994) and other recent U.S. bi- or multilateral trade agreements with developing countries, is creation of specific mechanisms to promote democratic environmental governance and environmental protection. While these formal institutions have not shown great autonomy and capacity to date, they provide one of several levers for domestic and transnational civil society groups and networks to enshrine a role for citizen participation in environmental decisionmaking at multiple levels of governance. They also may promote positive corporate behavior in less-developed economies. While the major case study focuses on Mexico and NAFTA, insights may also apply to other Latin American cases e.g. CAFTA-DR, and Chile.