This chapter includes discussion of the trade and environment debate, including the arguments for and against liberalization of trade and the complexity of the debate. It also discusses the international trade system, the origins and functions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the World Bank, and the relationships between these two organizations and environmental policies internationally and at the domestic level. Trade in the Americas is discussed with particular attention paid to NAFTA and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation. The effects of NAFTA on the U.S.-Mexico border and on the environment throughout the Americas is seen as something of much interest in this day of multinational corporations and implications. Finally, issues of the European Union and foreign investment are addressed as leading agents of possible change in the goals and actions of international companies.
