Green questions greet U.S.-Chilean trade accord

Trade

The announcement last month of a proposed free-trade agreement between Chile and the United States has turned up the heat on trade-and-environment debates in both Washington and Santiago. The deal, many details of which have yet to be made public, must now be considered by U.S. and Chilean legislators. While supporters call the accord’s green safeguards superior to those of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), critics fear the pact could prove ineffective—even counterproductive—when it comes to environmental protection. “This agreement essentially says that each country must respect its own environmental legislation,” says Manuel Baquedano, president of the Santiago-based Institute for Political Ecology. “But Chile has legislation that is very poor, that does not steer us toward defending... [Log in to read more]

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