Free Trade

Relevance

Developing countries are often blamed for many of the environmental problems that are occurring today. These countries are usually called pollution havens, which are geographical areas with little or no environmental regulations. Developing countries have access to a lot of the resources that developed countries need to expand their capitalist economies, so western society is responsible for most of the environmental degradation that takes place in developing countries. Many economists say that free trade is the reason for this phenomenon and others say that without free trade production efficiency would decrease.

Optimist

Every country has an area of production they specialize in or a common resource they have monopolized. Free trade makes use of each country’s expertise which insures that all products are created as efficiently as possible. If free trade was discontinued, each country would have to sustain itself and the economy would suffer. With free trade in place, economic growth is encouraged and the government can increase taxes to help improve the global environmental condition. Since free trade encourages sharing of ideas, it also can also help with the development of new technologies and sustainable methods of production which will improve the economy even further. This cycle of improvement benefits all countries involved and can enable otherwise economically inactive countries to earn a profit and improve the environment. "Maximising exchange and trade in green technology is what will ultimately drive emissions down altogether," said EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

Pessimist

Since free trade is a global phenomenon, smaller countries and those with less governmental control tend to get caught up in regulations and taxes. It is common for a country to become so busy creating goods for other countries that they no longer have any governmental control over their own country.

References

http://dieoff.org/page84.htm

http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/eu-us-eye-wto-free-trade-pact-climate-friendly-goods/article-168828

Population | CO2 Emission | Fossil Fuel Reserves | Renewable Energy | Free Trade | Agriculture