This article surveys the work done by the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and evaluates its success in fulfilling its mandate. It looks at the genesis of the CTE so as to comprehend the specific factors that led to its establishment, in the light of which its work is surveyed in detail. The article concludes that the CTE has been instrumental in identifying and understanding the relationship between trade and environment. By providing the WTO Members with a forum for debate and discussion the CTE has become fertile ground for the germination of new proposals, some of which have been incorporated into the Doha negotiating agenda, thereby making a positive contribution towards smoothening the fault lines between trade and environment.
Journal of World Trade