U.S. enviros said yesterday that a Clinton administration plan for making international trade negotiations more eco-friendly is a good first step but doesn’t go nearly far enough. Under rules proposed by the White House last month, U.S. trade negotiators would be required to review how draft trade agreements would affect the environment and to solicit more input from environmentalists and other concerned citizens. The administration hoped the proposal would stave off criticism that its free trade policies threaten the environment. But activists complained that the proposed rules are full of loopholes and that draft trade agreements still would not be made public, making it difficult for enviro groups to comment on them.
