Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-p2v8j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-12T01:46:09.324Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Natural resources and global value chains: What role for the WTO?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 May 2015

Fiona Smith
Fiona Smith*
Affiliation:
School of Law, University of Warwick. Email: F.Smith@warwick.ac.uk.
*
F.Smith@warwick.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Natural resources are critical to global value chains as minerals, good climate and fertile soil are commonly required for the beginning of the chain, with the consequence that any interruption in their supply threatens the chain's continued integrity. Trade in such resources provides a valuable source of income for resource-rich states. Yet exploitation of natural resources can result in their exhaustion and biodiversity loss, while their extraction can lead to environmental damage and human rights abuses, with the result that any positive contribution to sustainable development for resource-rich states is quickly undermined. Effective regulation is critical to maximise benefits and minimise potential harm. The WTO's rules seem ideally suited to allow the state to impose measures that militate against the overexploitation of the resource by corporations, whilst simultaneously ensuring that that regulation does not unnecessarily impede the flow of resources within the value chain. However, this paper will show that applying the WTO's rules to natural resource use in global value chains presents both substantive and normative challenges.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Law in Context , Volume 11 , Special Issue 2: International Economic Law, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development , June 2015 , pp. 135 - 152
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blanding, Michael (2005) ‘Coke: The New Nike’, The Nation, 24 March.Google Scholar
Daviron, Benoit and Ponte, Stefano (2005) The Coffee Paradox: Global Markets, Commodity Trade and the Elusive Promise of Development. London: Zed Books.Google Scholar
Cho, Sungjoon and Kelly, Claire (2013) ‘Are World Trade Rules Passé?’, Virginia Journal of International Law 53: 623–666.Google Scholar
Cotula, Lorenzo (2014) Foreign Investment, Law and Sustainable Development: A Handbook on Agriculture and Extractive Industries. London: International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
Dauvergne, Peter and Lister, Jane (2012) ‘Big Brand Sustainability: Governance Prospects and Environmental Limits’, Global Environmental Change 22(1): 36–45.Google Scholar
Deininger, Klaus, Byerlee, D., Lindsay, Jonathan, Norton, Andrew, Selod, Harris and Stickler, Mercedes (2011) Rising Interest in Global Farmland: Can it Yield Sustainable and Equitable Benefits? Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Eliason, Antonia (2014) ‘The Trade Facilitation Agreement – Episode IV: A New Hope for the World Trade Organisation’, Working Paper, online: <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2405640>..>Google Scholar
Flo-Cert (2014) ‘Public Compliance Criteria List – Small Producer Organisations’, 1 April, online: <http://www.flo-cert.net/flo-cert/fileadmin/user_upload/certification/requirements/CCApril2014/PC_PublicComplianceCritieraSPO_ED_7.5_en.pdf>..>Google Scholar
Gereffi, Gary, Humphrey, John and Sturgeon, Timothy (2005) ‘The Governance of Global Value Chains’, Review of International Political Economy 12(1): 78–104.Google Scholar
Gereffi, Gary, Korzeniewicz, Miguel and Korzeniewicz, Roberto Patricio (1994) ‘Introduction: Global Commodity Chains’, in Gereffi, Gary and Korzeniewicz, Miguel (eds), Commodity Chains and Global Capitalism. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1–14.Google Scholar
Gereffi, Gary and Lee, Joonkoo (2012) ‘Why the World Suddenly Cares about Global Supply Chains’, Journal of Supply Chain Management 48(3): 24–32.Google Scholar
Guarin, Alejandro (2013) ‘The Value of Domestic Supply Chains in an Age of Global Food Production: Producers, Wholesalers and Urban Consumers in Colombia’, Working Paper, German Development <SSRN-id2200473.pdf>..>Google Scholar
Häberli, Christian and Smith, Fiona (2014) ‘Food Security and Agri-Foreign Direct Investment in Weak States; Finding the Governance Gap to Avoid Land Grab’, Modern Law Review 77(2): 189–222.Google Scholar
Howse, Robert (1999) ‘The WTO and the Protection of Workers’ Rights’ Journal of Small and Emerging Business Law 3(1): 131–172.Google Scholar
Jägerskog, Anders, Cascão, Ana, Härsmar, Mats and Kim, Kyungmee (2012) Land Acquisitions: How Will They Impact Transboundary Waters? Stockholm: International Water Institute.Google Scholar
Jamieson, Alastair (2010) ‘Volcano Ash Cloud: Winners and Losers’, The Telegraph, 25 April, online: <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/7631576/Volcano-ash-cloud-winners-and-losers.html>..>Google Scholar
Karapinar, Baris (2011) ‘Export Restrictions and the WTO: How to Reform the Regulatory Deficiency’, Journal of World Trade 45(6): 1139–1155.Google Scholar
LEE, Joonkoo, GEREFFI, Gary and BEAUVAIS, Janet (2012) ‘Global Value Chains and Agri-food Standards: Challenges and Possibilities for Smallholders in Developing Countries’ Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109(31): 12326–12331.Google Scholar
Lim, Ching Leng and Senduk, J. H. (2012) ‘You Don't Miss Your Water Til the River Runs Dry: Regulating Industrial Supply Shortages After China Raw Materials’, Stanford Journal of Law, Business and Finance 18(1): 72–120.Google Scholar
Liu, Han-Wei and Maughan, John (2012) ‘China's Rare Earths Export Quotas: Out of the China-Raw Materials Gate, But Past the WTO's Finishing Line?’ Journal of International Economic Law 15(4): 971–1005.Google Scholar
Marceau, Gabrielle (2013) ‘The New TBT Jurisprudence in US-Clove Cigarettes, WTO US-Tuna II, and US-Cool’, Asian Journal of WTO and International Health Law and Policy 8: 1–40.Google Scholar
Mcmahon, Joseph Andrew (2006) The WTO Agreement on Agriculture: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Moody, Marcy Nicks (2012) ‘Warning: May Cause Warming: Potential Trade Challenges to Private Environmental Labels’, Vanderbilt Law Review 65: 1401–1146.Google Scholar
Oecd, Wto, Unctad (2013) Implications of Global Value Chains for Trade, Investment and Development and Jobs. Prepared for the G-20 Leaders Summit, Russia, 20 July, online: <http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TIVA_OECD_WTO>..>Google Scholar
Pollan, Michael (2011) The Omnivore's Dilemma. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Rodrik, Dani (2012) ‘Who Needs the Nation State?’, Economic Geography 89(1): 1–19.Google Scholar
UNCTAD (2013) World Investment Report 2013: Global Value Chains: Investment and Trade for Development. New York & Geneva: UNCTAD.Google Scholar
United Nations (2002) Global Compact: Corporate Sustainability in the World Economy, online: <http://www.unglobalcompact.org>..>Google Scholar
VILLALPANDO, Santiago M (2002) ‘Attribution of Conduct to the State: How the Rules of State Responsibility May be Applied Within the WTO Dispute Settlement System’, Journal of International Economic Law 5(2): 393–420.Google Scholar
Welton, George (2011) The Impact of Russia's 2010 Grain Export Ban. OXFAM.Google Scholar
World Economic Forum (2013) Enabling Trade Valuing Growth Opportunities, 25.Google Scholar