"The Evolving Protection of State Laws and the Environment: NAFTA from a
Texas Perspective."
Dan Morales Texas Attorney
General
The impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on U.S. state law
will be dramatic as trade among the the United States, Canada and Mexico
grows. Throughout the review and passage of NAFTA and its implementing
legislation, Texas Attorney General Dan Morales expressed his concern that
measures enacted by the states to protect their citizens-particularly in
the areas of health, safety, and environmental quality-should not be
compromised. "The Evolving Protection of State Laws and the Environment:
NAFTA from a Texas Perspective," based on an analysis conducted by the
Texas Office of Attorney General, aims to assist other states in
understanding and fully participating in the evolving federal-state
relationship on trade matters.
Trade Disputes and Environment
This report discusses key trade disputes under earlier trade agreements and
analyzes the potential impact of NAFTA trade disputes on future state
environmental policymaking. The new environmental protections offered to
state and Canadian provincial governments under NAFTA are discussed in
detail. A schedule of key deadlines for exempting existing state
regulations under NAFTA and the General Agreement on Trade in Services is
included as well.
Defending State Laws
The Texas Office of Attorney General also offers policymakers a series of
recommendations for protecting certain types of existing state regulations
from trade challenges. In the future, for example, states must maintain an
accurate legislative history of state laws and regulations, particularly
those environmental laws that could have trade impacts or that are
especially important to the health, safety, and well-being of a regional
population. NAFTA does not prohibit state legislatures from passing laws
that discriminate against products and services on the basis of national
origin, but states must be aware that these measures can now be challenged
by other countries under the terms of the trade agreement. Thus, as the
report indicates, states must be prepared to defend their laws in the event
that they are construed as trade barriers.
127 pages
$5.00 (plus tax, if applicable, and shipping and handling)
For information on this or any of our other publications please contact:
Cynthia Bock-Goodner
cmbg@mail.utexas.edu