Strategic Environmental Assessment of International Trade Agreements: Implications of NAFTA for China

摘要

The importance of Strategic environmental assessment(SEA) has been recognized for a long time. Unfortunately, the environmental assessment of international trade agreements has not been paid sufficient attention. In this regard,the environmental assessment of the 1994 North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as the first one of such kind,supplied the gap. The author reviews the background, process and experience of environmental assessment of NAFTA, and provides several suggestions for improving China's legislation and practice in this area.