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GOVERNMENT
Environmentalists say researcher does not fulfill court settlement terms Chemical companies are poised to resume consultations with U.S. trade officials after the Bush Administration last week named a researcher from a conservative think tank to a trade advisory panel. The group's meetings were suspended in March while the Administration sought an environmental representative for the committee.
Such a legal move possibly could keep ISAC-3 from holding meetings until a court rules in the case. Meanwhile, chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturers are eager to restart their discussions with U.S. trade negotiators (C&EN, Dec. 16, page 28). Last week, the Commerce Department named Brian Mannix, a senior research fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center, to ISAC-3. Mannix, who holds Harvard master's degrees in chemistry and in public policy, specializes in environmental and energy regulatory issues for the conservative-leaning center. A spokeswoman for the Commerce Department says that since Mannix works for a nonprofit organization, he is qualified to be ISAC-3's environmental representative. But Patti A. Goldman, managing attorney for Earthjustice, says that, while the Bush Administration has the prerogative to include Mannix on ISAC-3, he does not meet the criteria of an environmental representative. "I think they've destroyed the settlement," Goldman tells C&EN. "We're back to litigation." Environmentalists sued the government to gain a seat on the chemicals panel after a federal court granted them a slot on trade advisory committees for wood products and for paper. Rather than litigating a third case, the government settled the ISAC-3 suit by agreeing to appoint an environmental representative to the committee. Goldman says the antiregulatory, market-based views advocated by the Mercatus Center may be helpful to ISAC-3's discussions. However, the goal of the Earthjustice suit was to ensure that the chemicals panel membership had a balance of views--including an environmentalist. Goldman says this is especially important if Mannix is on the committee, since some free-market proponents argue that legitimate health and environmental regulations are barriers to trade that should be eliminated. Several national environmental groups supported Rick Hind, legislative director for Greenpeace, for the environmental representative slot on the chemical trade panel. But last week, Hind got a rejection letter from the Commerce Department saying, "We are not in a position to invite you to serve on the Committee." The letter did not indicate why Hind was passed by. Geoffrey B. Gamble, chief international counsel for DuPont who has served as chairman of ISAC-3, tells C&EN that in the wake of Mannix's appointment, the committee is scheduled to meet next on Jan. 15, 2003. |
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