Trade and Environment Review 2006

The TER 2006 focuses on environmental and related health requirements and their impact on developing countries´ market access. It examines both the opportunities and challenges presented by these requirements, which are increasingly stringent, complex and multi-dimensional. The Review includes both general and sectoral analyses of the issue, and looks at two sectors where environmental requirements are critical to market access: electrical and electronic equipment and organic agricultural products. The evidence presented in the Review supports recommendations for developing countries to adopt a more strategic and proactive approach to coping with environmental and related health requirements in export markets. This requires being involved from the initial stages of standards-setting, both in the context of government regulations and the increasing number of private-sector standards that apply across supply chains.