Precaution, science, risk and trade

The responsibility remains with governments to ensure that precautionary risk-management measures that they take in circumstances of uncertainty involve scientifically substantiated threats to health or the environment, are least trade-restrictive and are taken only after full consideration of their negative impact on economic development and on further improvements in social and environmental wellbeing.

World business, as represented by ICC, supports an open multilateral trading system with rules and disciplines as elaborated under the GATT/WTO since 1948.

There is a growing tendency to deal with environmental or health concerns about new or existing technologies through an expanded use of precaution.

This policy statement

• presents a world business perspective on precaution, and
• expresses concern a bout increasing recourse to trade-restrictive measures under the pretext of precaution.

The exercise of precaution in the context of international trade is expressly provided for in multilateral trade agreements under the GATT/WTO. The authority to take science- and risk-based action under these provisions should be maintained, as should the scientific discipline that underpins them.