International Trade, Investment and Sustainability

Abstract

This chapter begins by discussing the potential negative effects of trade on sustainable development, and the changes in the rules of trade and investment regimes that could lead to these negative impacts. It also discusses the rise of impact assessment processes, which States, regions and international organizations have begun to commission, to model and analyse the potential environmental and social/human rights impacts of trade and investment liberalization. It introduces the new generation of regional and bilateral trade and investment treaties being negotiated, and the need to evaluate how States are addressing sustainability concerns that emerge from impact assessments of these treaties. It also provides a working definition of ‘sustainable development’ and uncovers the circumstances and provisions under which international economic law levers are more likely to foster sustainable development, as well as the most effective interpretive weight for them. Finally, it highlights the utility of insights on international economic law and sustainability.