For Immediate Release
March 6, 2012
Washington, D.C. – The Congressional Research Service (CRS) has released a new report confirming that The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act (RERA, S. 1270, HR 2284) violates international trade law.
The report notes that the total export ban contemplated in RERA will be “difficult to reconcile with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), one of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and could be susceptible to challenge before a WTO panel.”
“This report objectively confirms what ISRI and both Republican and Democratic trade experts have been saying for quite some time now,” said ISRI President Robin Wiener. “An export ban bill is nothing but a disguised measure that will fail to put an end to irresponsible recycling around the world, and will in fact take us backward by violating our trade obligations.”
The report explains that the U.S. cannot unilaterally impose restrictions on electronic exports without risking repercussions in the WTO system. “U.S. GATT obligations prohibit any government actions that impose, or result in bans or other quantitative restriction of exports and imports destined to WTO members."
The report also confirms that invoking one of GATT’s general exceptions to protect human, animal or plant life or health would be “difficult” as the U.S. would have the burden to demonstrate that RERA’s export ban produced a “material contribution” towards realizing its public health objective –ending illegal pollution in developing countries.
If the U.S. imposed export ban restrictions were deemed inconsistent with the GATT, the U.S. would be expected to lift or modify these restrictions. If the U.S. failed to do so it could face WTO-authorized trade sanctions.
“This CRS report is an inconvenient truth for those who think an export ban is the way to curb irresponsible recycling. This isn’t an ISRI report; it comes straight from CRS, an esteemed legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress. An export ban is a dead-end, and those who keep clinging to the idea of it are doing serious damage to the cause of responsible recycling around the world. It is time to get real about this issue, and work together to find solutions, not spin our wheels,” said Wiener.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy andlegal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for nearly a century.
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