What are green barriers?

(1) The concept of green barriers: In international trade, tariff barriers used to be an important means of trade protection. Major developed countries such as the United States, Germany, and Japan all relied on tariff barriers to protect the development of their own industries during their periods of growth. However, as global environmental problems become increasingly severe, the conflicts between the environment and trade have grown more intense. As a result, trade protectionism has shifted from traditional tariff barriers to non-tariff barriers. Green barriers, as a new type of non-tariff barrier, have emerged and become a tool used by developed countries to restrict the import and export trade of developing countries under the pretext of protecting the environment. Green barriers are short for green trade barriers; they are also known as environmental barriers. In international trade, they refer to a set of stringent environmental regulations and standards that are imposed under the pretext of protecting ecological resources, the environment, and human health. These standards are higher than those recognized internationally or are generally considered unacceptable, and they serve as measures to restrict or prohibit the import of foreign goods. For example: The United States refuses to import Venezuelan gasoline because its lead (Pb) content exceeds the standards set in that country ； The EU has banned the import of Canadian leather products because hunting traps used by Canadian hunters have captured large numbers of wild animals ； Starting in the 1990s, Europe imposed a strict ban on the import of refrigerators containing Freon, which led to a 59% decline in China’s refrigerator exports, among other consequences. These are all a series of events arising from green barriers. (2) Characteristics of green barriers (1) Rationality. Green barriers have emerged as a result of the ongoing development of environmental protection movements. Their purpose is to protect a country’s natural resources, ecological environment, and people’s health; they represent a measure to safeguard the country’s environment and achieve sustainable development. As the concept of sustainable development gains greater acceptance, people have increasingly higher demands regarding environmental protection and are more sensitive to environmental issues. This has led to a gradual shift in people’s consumption patterns, from traditional consumption to green consumption. Green barriers take advantage of people’s concern for the ecological environment to disguise themselves under a guise of legitimacy. (2) Falsity. Green barriers generally claim to protect the Earth’s ecological environment and human health, which seems reasonable, but in reality they create obstacles to trade and represent a new form of trade protectionism. The standards regarding green barriers established by developed countries appear to be applied equally, but in reality they are flexible and changeable; moreover, there is no basis for determining whether such standards are correct or not ； Moreover, these barriers are mostly established against developing countries, so they are highly deceptive. (3) Imbalance. Green barriers are usually imposed by developed countries on developing countries, thus resulting in a great degree of imbalance. Requiring developing countries to meet advanced technical standards is highly unfair; it constitutes discrimination against those countries with relatively backward technology, with the aim of restricting their exports. (4) Concealment. Green barriers are often hidden in various trade regulations and international conventions, serving as the perfect pretext for importing countries to reject foreign products. Compared to other trade restriction measures, it has more advantages: on the one hand, it establishes complex and diverse standards that make it difficult for exporting countries to cope with ； On the other hand, it is very concealed, effectively avoiding issues such as discrimination, friction, and disputes, leaving exporters with no way to defend themselves. (5) Timeliness. Green barriers can only be effective for a certain period of time; those who implement them cannot keep a particular exporter’s products out of the country permanently. If the exporter’s products do not meet the requirements of the importing country regarding environmental protection measures, their products are rejected. After the exporter undertakes technical upgrades and implements a series of green measures over time, the environmental standards and other technical aspects of its products will gradually meet the importing country’s environmental protection requirements, and at that point the original green barriers imposed by the importing country on such products will no longer exist. Therefore, the green barriers imposed on a particular product have a certain time limit. 2. Background and causes of green barriers (1) Deterioration of the world’s ecological environment. The ecological environment is the foundation for human survival and development; all human activities depend on the natural environment. However, as human society has developed, it has intentionally or unintentionally damaged the ecological environment. Today, environmental issues not only affect the quality of life for humans but also undermine the foundations of human existence, even progressing to the point of destroying parts of human civilization and threatening human survival. When the carrying capacity of the ecological environment reaches its limit, it will exact a terrible revenge on humanity. Around the world, 28 people die due to environmental pollution every minute, and 15 million people lose their lives as a result each year ； 800 million people fall ill due to drinking contaminated water, and 25,000 die as a result every day. Due to environmental degradation, by the end of this century, 14 regions will be unable to sustain themselves, and 28,000 people will become environmental refugees. Faced with the increasing retribution from the natural environment, the international community has seen a strong wave of environmental protection efforts. People are also gradually realizing that protecting the environment is a shared responsibility of humanity, and they have begun to take joint action. (2) Promotion of environmental protection movements: It took a very long time from the emergence of environmental problems to people developing an awareness of environmental protection and taking measures to strengthen it. Today, countries around the world are carrying out environmental protection efforts at various levels, and there is a widespread awareness that, in order to survive, humanity must change its traditional production methods, which involve heavy consumption of natural resources and cause environmental damage. Many **have begun to carry out public awareness campaigns, and have taken measures to establish a range of environmental trade systems related to international trade, including environmental protection regulations, standards, and environmental labels. However, the provisions of some environmental trade systems – particularly those established by developed countries – are too strict and stringent, thereby restricting the development of international trade. Importing countries often use environmental protection as a pretext to prevent foreign goods from entering, thus creating green barriers. (3) Changes in the forms of trade protection: Since the 1990s, developed countries, while accusing each other of adopting protectionist trade policies, have simultaneously accelerated their efforts to find and use more flexible and concealed non-tariff barrier measures. With the accession to the WTO, tariff barriers and traditional non-tariff barriers can no longer serve as effective means to protect domestic markets. Faced with the dual pressures of environmental protection and market opening, developed countries began to use green trade barriers to restrict the entry of foreign goods, which gradually evolved into an effective means of trade protection. 3. Forms of green barriers (1) Environmental tariff system. This is an early form of green barrier, in which the importing country, under the pretext of environmental protection, imposes additional import tariffs on products that affect the ecosystem or cause environmental pollution, on top of the regular tariffs. This is essentially a type of environmental import surcharge, whose direct effect is to raise import prices and reduce the market competitiveness of imported goods, thereby achieving the goal of restricting imports. (2) Environmental quota system: This system determines the sales quotas for products from exporting countries in their own markets based on the environmental impact of those products, a practice that directly violates the WTO’s principle of eliminating quantitative restrictions. (3) Environmental permit system: The environmental permit system requires that imports and exports be permitted only upon the acquisition of a permit; in other words, the exporting country must obtain the importing country’s “prior notice and consent” before exporting certain goods. (4) Environmental subsidy system: When enterprises are unable to invest in expensive new environmental protection technologies or equipment, or are unable to develop clean technology products, **environmental subsidies are needed to help finance efforts to control pollution.** (5) Environmental trade sanctions: Environmental trade sanctions are among the most stringent measures among green barriers; in mild cases, imports are prohibited, while in more severe cases, retaliatory actions are taken. For example, in 1994, the United States imposed sanctions on Taiwan under the Pelley Amendment due to poor environmental practices there, causing Taiwan to suffer economic losses of over 10 million dollars. (6) System for internalizing environmental costs. It refers to systems for internalizing environmental costs established by some developed countries, which are protectionist measures imposed in the name of \"ecological dumping\" on products from countries with looser environmental standards. (7) Environmental protection technology standards and product green standards: Some developed countries rely on their technological advantages to enact, through legislative measures, increasingly strict, numerous, and detailed mandatory environmental protection technology standards as well as product green technology standards, in order to restrict the import of foreign goods. These standards are difficult to meet for developing countries, which inevitably leads to their products being excluded from international markets. (8) Environmental inspection and quarantine system: Developed countries are highly sensitive to food safety and hygiene standards; they have very strict requirements regarding pesticide residues, radioactive residues, heavy metal content, as well as quarantine measures for containers. This system serves as an important tool for developed countries to control goods imported from developing countries. (9) Environmental packaging and labeling systems: To prevent the negative impact of packaging materials on the environment as well as the harm caused by labels to society, some regulations impose strict requirements on product packaging and labeling. This is a common environmental technical barrier that can be used to effectively prevent products from exporting countries from entering. (10) Environmental labeling and certification systems. The environmental labeling system, also known as the green label system or eco-label system, refers to a specific label issued by government agencies or public or private organizations to relevant manufacturers, based on certain environmental standards, to certify that their products meet those standards. The holder of the mark may print or attach it to the product or its packaging to inform consumers that the product meets environmental requirements throughout its entire life cycle – from production and use to consumption and recycling – and that it causes less harm to the environment than other similar products, or has no adverse impact on the environment. It differs from ordinary product logos, as it represents a comprehensive assessment of the environmental quality of the product. 4. The current status of green barriers (1) Increasing frequency of use of green barriers Green barriers have been used more and more frequently over the past decade, becoming another important trade measure alongside anti-dumping measures. Among the 4,917 products worldwide, those affected by green barriers – 3,746 of them – accounted for trade volume of 4.732 trillion dollars, representing 88% of the world’s import values in 1999. Of this amount, 679 billion dollars was affected directly, accounting for 13%. A total of 137 importing countries around the world have adopted green barrier measures. According to a survey by an EU environmental agency, in 1998 alone the value of \"non-green products\" whose import was prohibited in the EU amounted to 30 billion dollars; 90% of these products came from developing countries, and they included thousands of different items such as textiles, clothing, cosmetics, household goods, toys, furniture, and home appliances. (2) Green barrier measures are being used in an increasingly wide range of areas. Green barrier measures cover a broader spectrum of fields. On the one hand, green barriers themselves are constantly being adjusted and supplemented in line with the needs of social and economic development, giving rise to an ever-growing variety of green trade measures that cover areas such as environmental protection, human health, biodiversity, and the safety of animals and plants. On the other hand, the scope of what is covered by green barriers is expanding increasingly. In recent years, these barriers impose environmental requirements not only on the products themselves but also on every stage of their lifecycle, including product design and development, raw material usage, production methods, packaging materials, transportation, sales, after-sales service, as well as the factory facilities, logistical infrastructure, and the health conditions of workers. These green protection measures pose a significant challenge to the foreign trade and economic development of developing countries. (3) The countries targeted by green barriers are selected with specific intent. Green barriers are often directed at those emerging developing countries that possess a certain economic foundation, enabling them to make use of their domestic resources and labor force to produce and export large quantities of resource- or labor-intensive products. These exported products have competitive advantages, and they can easily pose a threat to similar industries in the importing countries. Therefore, export goods from such developing countries are most vulnerable to green barriers imposed by developed countries. Such as China’s mechanical and electrical products, which will be discussed in detail later in the article. (4) Green barrier measures are dynamic. Green barriers are not static; they are constantly changing. With technological advancements in imported ** and rising environmental expectations among consumers, environmental standards continue to increase. This requires exporters to carry out continuous technical improvements in order to meet the environmental standards of importing countries. Furthermore, the dynamism of green barriers is also reflected in the fact that their implementation often triggers chain reactions: when one country adopts such measures, other countries quickly follow suit, with the practice spreading from one country to many others, thereby causing significant harm to exporting countries.