📅 25 March 2024
Maastricht, Netherlands & Virtual
On 25 March 2024, UNU-MERIT will host “Balancing Free Trade with Societal Values”, an MSc in Public Policy and Human Development Programme (MPP) Open Lecture by Denise Prévost, Associate Professor of International Economic Law, Maastricht University. This event will be held in person and online at 13:30 Central European Time.
It is widely recognized that development encompasses more than economic growth through trade liberalization. It also entails the promotion of important societal values and interests, such as environmental protection, labor standards, and human rights. The dire consequences of climate change and environmental degradation, and the need to mitigate them, have spurred action on national and international levels that has implications for the trade regime and for the possibilities of developing countries to increase their economic prosperity. The World Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes that trade liberalization is not an end in itself, but must promote sustainable development.
The lecture will dive into an issue of particular importance in trade policy — the interaction between trade liberalization and sustainable development. The lecture will explore the exceptions in WTO law that allow Members to deviate from their free-trade obligations to pursue other societal values such as sustainable development, and the disciplines they impose to prevent the abuse of this flexibility for protectionist purposes. Here a ‘balance’ emerges between trade liberalization and the regulatory autonomy of Members.