Using GATT, Art XX to Justify Climate Change Measures in Claims Under the WTO Agreements

Abstract

In a claim brought under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), World Trade Organization Members can potentially justify climate change measures, otherwise inconsistent with that Agreement, under the exceptions in Art XX. Developments in the interpretation and application of those exceptions have led some commentators to suggest a reconciliation between trade and environmental imperatives. This article explains the “environmental turn” in the Art XX jurisprudence and why a climate change measure will likely pass muster under Art XX. This article then examines the extent to which Art XX can be invoked to justify climate change measures otherwise inconsistent with WTO Agreements other than the GATT.

Keywords: World Trade Organization (WTO), climate change, GATT Art XX exceptions, SCM Agreement, TRIPS Agreement