The United States seeks to ensure that our international trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive. Our bilateral and international trade agreements and initiatives serve as essential tools to protect the environment, level the playing field for U.S. industry, and tackle critical environmental challenges—such as illegal fishing, wildlife trafficking, illegal logging and mining, and broader environmental conservation efforts.
The Environment & Natural Resources office of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative advances these trade policy objectives bilaterally, regionally, and multilaterally through a range of efforts, including through:
Enforcement of Environmental Commitments
- Monitoring and enforcing environmental commitments in existing trade agreements, including commitments to maintain high levels of environmental protection, effectively enforce environmental laws, and promote public participation in environmental matters. Learn more here.
- Working with the State Department and other U.S. government agencies to strengthen environmental cooperation and capacity building activities intended to help U.S. trading partners to meet commitments under U.S. trade agreements.
- Promoting transparency and public participation in FTA environment chapter implementation, including public submission mechanisms such as for USMCA. Public comments regarding any matter under the USMCA Environment Chapter can be submitted to USMCAenvironment@ustr.eop.gov. More information on USMCA implementation can be found here.
Negotiations and Multilateral Agreements
- Negotiating strong and enforceable commitments in the environment chapters of new trade agreements, including ground-breaking commitments to combat illegal fishing, illegal logging, and wildlife trafficking; discipline harmful fisheries subsidies; and address other pressing environmental issues such as air quality and marine litter.
- Conducting environmental reviews to evaluate the positive and negative environmental impacts of trade agreements under negotiation. You may read the reviews here.
- Supporting the implementation of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies to discipline harmful fisheries subsidies that lead to the depletion of global fish stocks, with a view to improve fisheries resource sustainability and the lives of fishers. Learn more here.
- Participating in the negotiation and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the launch of negotiations on an international agreement to combat ocean plastic pollution. Learn more here.
Pursuit of Sustainable Trade Initiatives
- Promoting circular economy and resource efficiency in international fora such as the WTO, including by leading panel discussions on circular economy topics during the last several WTO Trade and Environment Week events. For more information, you may visit our circular economy page.
- Identifying new and innovative approaches to environment and trade issues, through bilateral, regional, and multilateral engagement. The United States joined the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) initiative at the WTO to advance discussions on how trade can play a role in addressing the global environmental challenges. Learn more here.
- Promoting sustainable management of natural resources through multilateral and bilateral mechanisms, including by combating illegal fishing and promoting sustainable fisheries management and marine conservation, combating illegal logging and associated trade, and promoting sustainable forest management through the Forest Annex of the U.S.-Peru TPA and the bilateral U.S.-Vietnam Timber Agreement, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and other relevant fora.
