Happy Earth Day from USTR!
To celebrate and affirm the importance of trade as powerful tool to help solve major environmental challenges, here is an overview of the discussion so far this year on the how the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is an historic opportunity to lead on trade and the environment by establishing the toughest environmental protections of any regional trade agreement.
“The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is one of those potentially game-changing solutions. The TPP is a trade agreement designed to promote economic growth by enhancing trade and investment among twelve TPP partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including the United States… It's not often that large-scale opportunities arise to help protect our planet. And surprisingly enough, the TPP, if it is done right, can offer a valuable way forward.”
- Carter Roberts, World Wildlife Fund in Conserving Nature Is Good Trade Policy — February 28, 2014, Huffington Post
Remarks by Ambassador Michael Froman to the Outdoor Industry Association
“But there’s even more on the line, especially where the environment is concerned. That’s because we’re pursuing the highest standards in our trade agreements, including the strongest, enforceable environmental protections in history. Take the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP.”
–U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman
IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud Action Plan: Using Trade to Combat Illegal Fishing
“We are also on track to securing pioneering commitments by the TPP countries to combat illegal fishing, promote sustainable fisheries management, and encourage conservation of marine resources, including sharks and other threatened marine species.”
–U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman
Using Trade Agreements to Fight Wildlife Trafficking
“In TPP we are pressing for groundbreaking and enforceable obligations to combat wildlife trafficking, and because TPP encompasses some of the world’s most ecologically significant regions, and major markets for wildlife and wildlife products, these efforts will potentially make all the difference for endangered and iconic species like rhinos and elephants, as well as reptiles, tropical birds and fish, and the lesser-known but critically endangered pangolin.”
–U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman
