the preservation of biodiversity, the spread of deserts, and the environmental health of the seabed. Countries

that share a national border or are within a region often sign environmental agreements about air and water

rights, too. The WTO is also becoming more aware of environmental issues and more careful about ensuring

that increases in trade do not inflict environmental damage.

Finally, note that these concerns about the race to the bottom or pressuring low-income countries for more

strict environmental standards do not apply very well to the roughly half of all U.S. trade that occurs with other

high-income countries. Many European countries have stricter environmental standards in certain industries

than the United States.

The Unsafe Consumer Products Argument

One argument for shutting out certain imported products is that they are unsafe for consumers. Consumer

rights groups have sometimes warned that the World Trade Organization would require nations to reduce their
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