Africa/Global: Environmental laws lined up for removal by new trade talks

Governments including Japan, Korea, Mexico and the United States are planning to use new World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations to dismantle a wide range of national laws protecting the environment, social well-being and health, Friends of the Earth International has revealed. A list compiled by the environmental group before trade negotiators met in Geneva in April showed that legislation covering food, fisheries, timber and petroleum production, energy efficiency, chemical testing, recycling and standards in the electronics and automobile industries have all been raised as potential "barriers to trade" in the past few months.