Nano-Business: Would the WTO Provide an Objective Balance Between the Risks and Benefits of Trading in Nanotechnology

A strict definition of nanotechnology characterizes it as the manipulation of atoms and molecules at the scale of approximately one-billionth of a meter (one nanometer) or smaller in size. The scientists activity at such a scale has provided enormous capacity for human beings, especially in the environmental field. Even though nanoparticles enhance products, recent scientific studies have shown that nanoparticles present unique and significant health risks. With these unique risks in mind, nanoscale products are shipped daily in international trade. Such potential health risks raise questions about how the international community should regulate trade in nanotechnology. The WTO is an international body with the aim of stewardship and liberalization of world trade which has sought to coordinate its economic policies with environmental protection. The examining of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the WTO jurisprudence, shows that the application of these Agreements based on the governments reliance on the scientific evidence and international standards for environmental risks of nano products would provide for an objective balance between the risks and benefits in trading in nanotechnology.

Keywords:

Nanotechnology , WTO , the SPS Agreement , the TBT Agreement , Nano Risks , Business Benefits , Balance