The Politics of Trade and Environmental Linkages: Vice or Virtue?

Abstract

As international environmental problems worsen, scholarly attention has turned to the prospects of leveraging trade agreements. This study examines why and how states include environmental clauses in Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) to understand to what degree they promote environmental protection. Drawing on historical inquiry, econometric, and qualitative case study analysis of the East African Community PTA, the study finds that states have primarily included environmental clauses to mitigate the negative impacts of environmental measures on trade, and avoided sanctions in favour of coordination when promoting environmental protection through the PTAs. The study contributes to unders..