ADB_book_18 April.qxp - Himalayan Document Centre - icimod

finance, insurance, education, media, transport,energy, health, water and sanitation, waste disposal,and others. The developed countries have manypollution abatement services and technologies tosell, and this move is seen by some people indeveloping countries as a way of promoting exportsfrom the developed countries. While this may truefor some of the services, it may not be applicable toothers and a case by case evaluation is necessary.Intellectual PropertyThis has been one of the most controversial anddifficult provisions under the present WTOagreement. Developments in biotechnology havepushed the developed countries to press for strongerprotection of intellectual property rights. Developingcountries have lacked appropriate laws and thepressure is on to prepare needed rules andregulations. However, there are a number of seriousconcerns here such as (i) overlooking the collectivenature of ownership of traditional knowledgedeveloped over many generations and the possibilityof foreclosing the entry of the public sector in thefuture, (ii) loss of biodiversity and adapted localvarieties impoverishing the genetic pool, and (iii)promoting a very western, developed countryfriendly legal regime with respect to intellectualproperty rights. The developed countries have beensomewhat unprepared for this reaction, as theiragenda requires not only the development of relatedlaws but also the capacity to enforce such policies(Boyer 2001, Chatuvedi 2003, Adhikari 2004).Problems of Access to InformationInformation regarding new environmental standardsby the importing countries is often delayed,inadequate, distorted, and even non-existent at thetime of the export. Exporters have been caught bysurprise without sufficient time to prepare andrespond appropriately. The technical standards arevery complex in some cases, and these may not beunderstood. Even when understood the exportingfirm may lack the capacity to do anything about it.This lack of knowledge and capacity to respond is areal problem for many of the small- and mediumsizedexporters in many developing countries.Heterogeneous Standards and RegulationsThere appears to be a lack of uniformity of standardsbetween countries for the same export. The cost ofkeeping up with the changes has been escalating.There is competition between organizations forcertification and labeling for the same environmentalstandard. This may be helpful in reducing costs tosome extent, but developing countries may faceproblems in choosing the acceptable ones. Some ofthe standards have been designed with the objectiveof creating new markets for cleaner productiontechnologies or methods (Andrew et al. 2004). Thereare discussions about harmonization of standards,procedures for conformity assessments, and thepossibility of establishing equivalence agreements.However this is a relatively new area and manyaspects are still in their early stages of development.Boyer (2001) points out that EU packaging andlabeling standards including regulation on recycledcontent of paper are so high that most developingcountries’ exports will not be able to satisfy them. Hemaintains that although ecolabeling is voluntary itresults in market segmentation; use of InternationalStandards Organization (ISO) certification andexpertise is very costly for most small exporters fromdeveloping countries.Chaturvedi and Nagpal (2003), referring toIndia’s experience with the EU, point out thatpermitted levels of additives and pesticides are veryhigh, including emission standards for machines. Hepoints that some EU importers have introduced“socially responsible trading” to reflect status ofemployees, working environment, facilities and theneed to fulfill a new “code” for exporters. Similarly,the quarantine restrictions for fresh fruits andvegetables have become highly stringent. There is aban on some types of antibiotics and chemicals. Anytrace of DDT, aldrin, or heptachlor results in rejectionof the export. Some dyes are banned in textiles andleather. There are restrictions on the levels offormaldehyde although there is controversy withinthe EU in this regard. Referring to Japan, Chaturvedifurther points out that Japanese food sanitation lawsprohibit imports of many citrus fruits. There is a zerotolerance law on insects, plant quarantineprocedures are very lengthy, and preshipmentinspection is possible but the cost is very high.Moving to the US, Chaturvedi (2003) provides someinformation on the interventions made by the UnitedStates Food and Drug Administration for detention ofimports from South Asian countries. The majorreasons for preventing entry of some exports wererelated to food additives, pesticide residues, andpresence of heavy metals, moulds, microbiologicalcontamination, decomposition, filth, low acidcanned food, labeling, and a few others. The mostimportant categories were filth (article appears toconsist in whole or in part of filthy, putrid, ordecomposed substances), violation of labelingrequirements, and microbiological contamination(presence of bacteria such as salmonella andshigella).Chapter 12: Environment and Trade189