Methodologies for Sustainability Impact Assessments of Proposals for New Trade Agreements

In the build-up to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in November 1999, and its aftermath, considerable interest has been expressed in the likely economic, environmental and social effects of trade liberalisation on sustainable development. This article explores the methodological challenges which are faced when undertaking a sustainability impact assessment (SIA) at different stages in multilateral trade negotiations. The article draws upon the authors' experiences when undertaking a preliminary SIA in advance of the proposed WTO New Round, and explores how the methodology used might need to be elaborated for use in later stages of the negotiating process. Given existing methodological deficiencies and data shortages, it points to some of the dangers in being over-ambitious and proposes, as an interim solution, the more detailed and specific application of "simpler" methods already in use.