Could CAFTA be the latest conduit for outsourcing pollution?

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to use the experience of pollution in the Imperial and Baja California Valleys under NAFTA, as a cautionary model to provide recommendations for deterrence of similar ecological degradation effects that could emerge under the newly‐approved CAFTA.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis of the region using existing statistical data and content analysis of qualitative data from the Imperial and Baja California Valleys, and Costa Rica.

Findings

Economics and ecology have thus far not proved to have a complementary relationship, based on the NAFTA experience in the Imperial and Baja California Valleys. Early data on environmental law suits in the CAFTA region against environmental regulations also point to a negative attitude by business to environmental protections of nation‐states. CAFTA's investment rules puts corporate rights over ecosystems by limiting public regulation and granting legal avenues to corporations to sue governments for “barriers to trade”, where national environmental laws are seen as these so‐called “barriers to trade”.

Research limitations/implications

CAFTA was promulgated in 2005, but only put into effect, January 1, 2006. Thus, as more data emerges about its impacts, additional and more definitive studies can be undertaken.

Practical implications

Looking at the possible environmental effects of CAFTA and NAFTA provides the international community a chance to consider early remediation and prevention measures for the environmental sustainability of the CAFTA region within the context of this large economic market.

Originality/value

This is a fresh and early look at a newly‐installed international trade policy, and its value to scholars and practitioners lies in its cautionary guidance for the future of CAFTA. These arguments are based on experience with other, more longer‐lived, trade policies like NAFTA.

Citation

Coates, B.E. (2007), "Could CAFTA be the latest conduit for outsourcing pollution?", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 27 No. 1/2, pp. 77-94. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330710722779