The Impact of the WTO (PAPERBACK) | Released: 30 Jun 2009

`Kelly's exhaustively researched and highly informative discussion of the nine WTO disputes involving environmental protection and public health represents an important scholarly contribution. This book is the most detailed and sophisticated analysis of the role of the WTO's dispute mechanisms in addressing an increasingly important and highly controversial category of trade disputes.'
- David Vogel, University of California, Berkeley, US

`Does the WTO favor trade at the expense of national sovereignty, the environment and public health, as the critics contend? Or is it a democratic institution that gives all countries a seat at the table for a feast of free trade? Trish Kelly's superb book, The Impact of the WTO is the first careful and comprehensive look at the actual environmental and health disputes adjudicated at the WTO to try to answer this question. Her answers are well-researched, objective and unlikely to fully satisfy either side in this sometimes raucous argument: Kelly concludes that, so far, the WTO has not sacrificed sovereignty, the environment and public health; but looking forward, the poorest countries need more assistance to have greater access to the dispute settlement mechanisms. She also shows that strong political action at the national level is necessary to protect public health and the environment. Though controversial, this book will provide the gold standard of careful analysis on these issues for the foreseeable future.'
- Gerald A. Epstein, University of Massachusetts Amherst, US

This volume is the first to provide a comprehensive analysis of the nine environmental and health disputes that have been adjudicated at the WTO since 1995. The investigation concludes that criticism of the WTO has been overstated and, surprisingly, nations do in fact retain sovereignty over environmental and health policy. The disputes explored suggest that the WTO has been able to balance trade, environmental and health objectives. The discussion illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of the dispute resolution process and closes with suggestions for improving it.

The Impact of the WTO will appeal not only to academics, be they economists, lawyers, political scientists, and academic libraries, but also practitioners, policymakers, and members of consumer, environmental, and business organizations who follow the debates surrounding the WTO's influence on environmental and health regulations