Harmonisation Between Trade Liberalisation and Environmental Protection – A Long Way to Go? An Analysis of Vietnam’s Debris Importation Control in Light of WTO and CPTPP Rules

As in many other countries, Vietnam’s integration into the international trade system has accelerated since its participation in the WTO and regional trade agreements. However, widening market access – the consequence of this integration process – risks exacerbating some of Vietnam’s existing environmental problems. In this context, the Vietnamese government is adopting measures in order to mitigate negative impacts of trade on the environment, but do these measures risk violating Vietnam’s international trade commitments? Can the environmental protection provisions of new generation free trade agreements like CPTPP be a reliable legal basis to justify Vietnamese trade restriction measures? The author will analyse these questions, while focusing on the case of debris importation control – an issue that has been attracting a lot of public attention in Vietnam and in South East Asia in recent years.