McDonald, Jan --- "Tr(e)ading Cautiously: Precaution in WTO Decision Making" [2006] ELECD 391; in Fisher, Elizabeth; Jones, Judith; von Schomberg, René (eds), "Implementing the Precautionary Principle" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2006)

Book Title: Implementing the Precautionary Principle

Editor(s): Fisher, Elizabeth; Jones, Judith; von Schomberg, René

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781845427023

Section: Chapter 8

Section Title: Tr(e)ading Cautiously: Precaution in WTO Decision Making

Author(s): McDonald, Jan

Number of pages: 22

Extract:

8. Tr(e)ading cautiously: precaution in
WTO decision making
Jan McDonald1

1. INTRODUCTION

Of all the principles of sustainable development, the precautionary prin-
ciple is at once the most alluring and elusive. It offers the reassurance of a
`do no harm' philosophy, but lacks the necessary clarity for direct imple-
mentation or application. `Precaution' attempts to bridge the gap between
the innovative powers of science and its capacity to anticipate and predict
consequences (Harremoës et al. 2002, p. 209); in regulatory terms, it recog-
nizes that prevention is better than cure.
The concept of precaution in environmental and health decision making
has emerged at a time when international economic activity is expanding in
size and geographical scope, largely spurred by the very technological
innovation that precaution responds to. The domination of economic
developmentalist discourse in global politics means that precaution is con-
stantly under pressure; criticized for being anti-progress. Nowhere are these
tensions better demonstrated than within the principal vehicle for global
economic integration, expansion and liberalization ­ the World Trade
Organization (WTO). As part of this book exploring the implementation
of the principle, this chapter examines precaution in the law and practice
of the WTO.
This chapter is organized into three sections. Section two briefly sketches
the features of precautionary decision making that can then be used to
examine WTO law and practice. Section three then considers whether these
features are reflected in the decisions of dispute settlement panels and the
WTO Appellate Body (AB) dealing with ...