Understanding Environmental Provisions in Asia-Pacific Trade Agreements

1. A Critical Analysis of Environmental Provisions in the Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) in the Asia-PacificI-Ju Chen24th February 2017

2. ContentsI. PTAs and the Asia-PacificII. Analysis of Environmental ProvisionsIII. Assessment of TPPIV. Challenges and Opportunities

3. I. PTAs and the Asia-Pacific • WesternandAsiancountries

4. I. PTAs and the Asia-Pacific • Developedand • Developingcountries

5. II. Analysis of Environmental Provisions❖26 PTAs ❖Forms∙ in PTAs∙ in a side environmental agreement ❖Threecategories are identified:∙ Substance∙ Institutional mechanisms∙ Enforcement

6. 26 PTAs that incorporate environmental provisions: • AUSFTA: Australia and the US Free Trade Agreement (2005) • ACFTA: Australia and Chile Free Trade Agreement (2008) • BJEPA: Brunei and Japan Economic Promotion Agreement (2007) • CCFTA: Canada and Chile Free Trade Agreement (1997) • CMFTA 1999: Chile and Mexico Free Trade Agreement (1999) • CCnFTA 2005: Chile and China Free Trade Agreement (2005) • CPFTA 2008: Canada and Peru Free Trade Agreement (2008) • CnPFTA 2009: China and Peru Free Trade Agreement (2009) • CAFTA 2015: China and Australia Free Trade Agreement (2015) • CKFTA 2015: Canada and Korea Free Trade Agreement (2015) • JMEPA 2005: Japan and Malaysia Economic Promotion Agreement (2005) • JAEPA 2014: Japan and Australia Economic Promotion Agreement (2014)

7. KCFTA 2003: Korea and Chile Free Trade Agreement (2003) • KSFTA 2005: Korea and Singapore Free Trade Agreement (2005) • KORUS 2012: Korea and US Free Trade Agreement (2012) • KAFTA 2014: Korea and Australia Free Trade Agreement (2014) • MAFTA 2013: Malaysia and Australia Free Trade Agreement (2013) • NAFTA 1994: The North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) • SAFTA 2003: Singapore and Australia Free Trade Agreement (2003) • SEP 2005: Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore (2005) • SCFTA 2008: Singapore and China Free Trade Agreement (2008) • TAFTA 2005: Thailand and Australia Free Trade Agreement (2005) • USSFTA 2003: US and Singapore Free Trade Agreement (2003) • UPTPA 2006: US and Peru Trade Promotion Agreement (2006) • UCFTA 2004: US and Chile Free Trade Agreement (2004) • VCFTA 2014: Vietnam and Chile Free Trade Agreement (2014)

8. II. Analysis of Substance ❖Findings Reflected in trade and investment; Avoid green protectionism; Higher Protection after 2013 (Exception: Australia’s FTAs with Chia, Japan and Malaysia); Broader protection in PTAs of Western countries ❖Comments: Effectiveness of the PTAs

9. II. Analysis of Institutional Mechanisms ❖Findings: Environmental institutions and assessments; Canada’s Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreements: request of environmental assessments ❖Comments: Operation of institutional mechanisms

10. II. Analysis of Enforcement❖Findings: Types: investigatory, prosecutorial, regulatory and compliance; Access to Remedies and Procedural Requirements; Dispute Settlement Mechanisms❖Comments: Available but seldom be used; the absence in the Asian PTAs

11. III. Assessment of TPP ❖Summary of the analysis of existing PTAs ❖Greener? Yes. Factors: Broad Scope: Fishing, marine conservation and pollution, logging, ozone.Removing tariffs on numerous environmental goods; enforcement: monetary fines and trade sanctions❖Criticisms of TPP

12. IV. Challenges and Opportunities❖Provisions of specific environmental matters❖Gap of environmental standards ❖Regional environmental governance by a RTA: TPP or RCEP?Image: David Kleimann

13. Thank you.  Email: ixc495@bham.ac.uk Twitter:@Iju_Chen