By Evan Abrams

Human rights groups are urging Myanmar to reconsider several provisions in its much touted draft investment law. The law is a key step in the country’s recent move toward more open markets and democratic accountability. According to Voice of America groups have expressed concern that the law would make it difficult for the government to pass subsequent regulations to protect human rights and the environment. Human Rights Watch has been particularly critical, claiming that the law was put forth with very little public consultation.

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March 31, 2015

By Aliza Kemner

Kesha and Pitbull aren’t the only players on the scene discussing timber these days. China, the biggest consumer, producer, and exporter of timber in the world, participated in a “Timber Legality Training workshop” in Guangzhou to raise awareness of regulations governing the timber trade. 

Given the impact of illegal logging and timber trade on areas including conservation, reduced profitability of legal trade, loss of foreign revenue, and currency exchange, this issue touches on all sorts of domestic, supply, and destination country legislation. 

Check out TRAFFIC for the scoop on the latest collaboration between the wildlife protection organization, WWF’s Global Forest & Trade Network (GFTN), the China Timber and Wooden Products Distribution Association, and IKEA Supply to combat these issues.

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April 17, 2014

By Phillip Yu

If you’ve ever been to one of the more populous cities in China or have seen recent photographs, you’ll know that China has a pollution problem, with a sky of grey during the day and everyday citizens donning masks. While industrial coal complexes are certainly large contributors to the pollution, some experts blame trade agreements established in the 1990s by President Bill Clinton that harnessed the West’s demand for consumer products while taking advantage of cheap labor and lax environmental standards.

Not only are the Chinese suffering from ailments like lung cancer just simply breathing, the United States is getting hit with lost jobs and a downward pressure on wages. While changing the way China generates electricity will be difficult, experts hope that China will take initiative to capture and sequester carbon emissions.  

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March 14, 2014

By Aliza Kempner

The United States and eleven other countries have sought to strengthen environmental protections worldwide in negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership. However, a draft chapter of the agreement WikiLeaks exposed last week reveals that many of the countries involved are seeking to undercut that goal. While the American proposal includes penalties in cases of environmental disputes, Pacific nations see things differently, advocating for a process without disciplinary teeth.

The New York Times considers the misgivings that could ensue, as some Trans-Pacific Partnership countries reject binding commitments on environmental issues, but appear willing to include similar terms in areas such as state expropriation of private businesses.

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February 10, 2014

By Phillip Yu

A recent World Trade Organization panel decision on the European Union affirmed the prohibition of the general sale of seal products. The WTO originally issued this ban in 2009, citing public concerns about the pain and suffering that hunting and skinning causes to seals. Canada had appealed the ban, arguing that seal hunting is humane. However, the WTO stood its ground, recognizing action against cruelty to animals as “a matter of ethical responsibility for human beings in general.”

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December 05, 2013

By Stephen Kozey

Everyone knows that China has become one of the most important economies in the world, and it plans to keep things that way. But how? On Wednesday, you can find some answers to that question at ASIL’s full-day presentation, featuring top Chinese government officials. The Assistant Minister of Commerce and his team will speak about China’s plan to stay on top, including discussion of clean and renewable energy laws and their affect on entrepreneurship in China.

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December 03, 2013

By Julie Inglese

Palm oil mill by Marufish, on Flickr

While high demand for palm oil in Africa and Southeast Asia is widely known for being a large environmental concern, Voice of America (VOA) reports that there also is an underlying human rights issue that is being neglected. 

VOA spoke with Norman Jiwan, the executive director of Transformation for Justice Indonesia and the co-editor of a new report on the issue. Jiwan told VOA that the expansion of the palm oil industry in Indonesia "has created serious land conflict because of the land grabbing" from indigenous peoples without consent. This in turn is threatening the food supply of some communities.

The same issues have emerged in Africa and advocates are working with palm oil companies in hopes of settling land disputes.

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November 18, 2013

By Min Wu

The European Commission has conducted an investigation on China’s solar industry, and Reuters has an interesting piece on the results. The Commission has found that China broke World Trade Organization rules by handing out cheap loans, land, interest-free credit lines, and tax breaks to its companies.

However, Chinese companies told Reuters that economies of scale, not illegal subsidies, are what allow them to sell at lower prices than their European rivals. China has also accused Europe of subsidizing its solar industry by giving aid to final users of solar energy.

Read more at Reuters.

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September 01, 2013