Sincethe1970s,environmentalissueshavegraduallyassumedimportanceintradediscussions.Tradeliberalizationandenvironmentalprotectionhavebecomeincreasinglyinterlinkedbecauseofthemarkeddevelopmentofinternationaltradeanditsseriouslydegradingeffectontheenvironment.TheWTO,asthesoleinternationalorganizationregulatingtrade,hasinevitablycomeintothespotlight.AclearreferencetotheimportanceofsustainabledevelopmentliesinthepreambleoftheWTOandintheestablishmentofanewCommitteeonTradeandEnvironment(CTE).However,theroleoftheWTOinthisissueisstillhotlydebated.LiberalistsmaintainthattheWTO,asatrade-regulatingbody,hasgonetoofarinenvironmentalprotectionwhilstenvironmentalistsclaimthattheWTOhasnotgonefarenough.ThispaperattemptstoanalyzetheroleoftheWTOinthecomplicatedlinkagebetweentradeliberalizationandenvironmentalprotection,concludingthatonlyundercertaincircumstancescantheWTOplayanactiveroleinmakingtradeliberalizationandenvironmentalprotectionmutuallysupportive.
