The bill would govern management of BLM lands, including potential wilderness areas, in the San Rafael Swell region of southern Utah. Boehlert s substitute for Udall s amendment to offer greater wilderness protection passed by a single vote. The environmental impacts of international trade first caught public attention in the early 1990s, when the precursor to the WTO declared that a U.S. ban on tuna caught using driftnets was inconsistent with international trade rules. Although the ban had contributed to a dramatic reduction in dolphins being caught and drowned in these nets, the trade panel ordered the U.S. to change its laws or face international trade sanctions. Since this decision, a number of environmental policies have come under fire from international trade institutions.
China has one of the world s worst environmental protection records.
Severe pollution has left much of China s water unfit to drink and its air unhealthy to breathe. In addition, China s markets are a major destination for illegal trade in endangered species. Congress decision to grant permanent normal trade relations will pave the way for China to join the WTO, giving China access to the WTO dispute processes that have proven so hostile to environmental protection. Each of these decisions will have a profound impact on conservation interests. In the final appropriations end game of the 106th Congress, the standoff between Capitol Hill and the White House continued to impact environmental policy.