While the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) has captured what little press attention is focused on international trade, countries are continuing to use World Trade Organization (WTO) rules to undermine national laws and over the past few years, have expanded challenges using the WTO's Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) negotiations. According to a new analysis by Friends of the Earth, there are currently some 212 challenges in the WTO to environmental standards, health standards, and measures designed to promote local economic development. Some of the challenged laws and polices include:

• Policies that promote energy efficiency in household appliances, air conditioning units and heating
• The European Union's CE Marking scheme (which ensures imports comply with the essential requirements of EU health, safety and environmental protection laws)
• Requirements to label canned and processed seafood products if they have more than 1% genetically-modified ingredients
• Restrictions on trade in wild animals and products made from them
• Measures used to implement International Organization for Standardization's ISO 14000 and ISO 8000 standards - on environmental management systems and working conditions respectively
• In relation to forestry, building codes and safety standards, measures designed to assist small farmers, government subsidies for education, training and forest research
• Restrictions on the use of heavy metals, such as cadmium, lead and chromium in the production of electronic appliances
• Trade measures used to implement the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) (the Philippines) and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (Malaysia).

Friends of the Earth has also compiled a database with complete details on the challenges initiated under the NAMA negotiations.