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Which definition are you using today?

Pascal Lamy's, "free trader" president of the WTO.

In a speech delivered in Brussels on 15 September, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy presented a case for consideration of so-called 'collective preferences' in trade relations. The speech was entitled 'The emergence of collective preferences in international trade: implications for regulating globalisation'. Collective preferences are the end result of choices made by communities that apply to the community as a whole (in short, values). Amongst other issues, the speech offered reasoning behind the EC's positions in areas such as clarifying the relationship between WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements and advocating sustainability impact assessments of trade agreements. Notably, Lamy forwarded the idea of a special safeguard clause to clarify how collective preferences might be integrated into WTO rules. The aim in taking such an approach in trade, Lamy said, is to make the most of greater openness through trade liberalisation while ensuring that it does not threaten to override domestic policy choices.

While he admitted that the concept of collective preferences can be an ambiguous one, Lamy outlined a number of specific European examples, namely multilateralism, environmental protection, food safety, cultural diversity, public provision of education and healthcare, precautions in the field of biotechnology, and welfare rights.

In the speech, Lamy commended the WTO's Appellate Body for being a "faithful guardian" of collective preferences under the WTO system by balancing wider public concerns with WTO principles such as non-discrimination as well as with rules of international public law.