Fresh water within international trade fora: GATT, GATS and interaction between the freshwater and the international trade regimes

摘要

International Trade of Water comprises bottled fresh water and water in bulk as well as virtual water and trade of water services. Since fresh water is an issue dealt with mainly within the international environmental law fora, there raises the doubt on how to settle possible conflicts between trade rules and environmental rules within it. A possible conflict interaction between the International Fresh Water Regime and the International Trade Regime is presented, taking into consideration the consolidated rules of GATT, GATS and the distinct documents on fresh water issues in such a way of anticipating the conflict. There is also presented a possible relational interational between these two regimes, foreseeing the construction of rules that bring a previous dialogue between them. A conclusion is for the viability of these kinds of interaction, pointing out their sustainable solutions for the fresh water conflicts issue. The research presented is a qualitative one, with the use of the deductive and dialectic methods.