In the absence of coordinated multilateral action, many countries seek to address environmental harm occurring in foreign jurisdictions by introducing measures that regulate the importation of certain products. In Australia, the Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 (Cth) and the Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012 (Cth) prohibit the import of timber that has been harvested in a manner that is contrary to the laws of the harvesting country. One unsettled question is whether the measure is inconsistent with the law of the World Trade Organization. This article considers this question ahead of the Commonwealth Government’s 10-year review of the Measure. To this end, the article examines the consistency of the Act with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. The findings of the article are relevant to Australia and to other countries that design and implement measures to regulate the importation of products for environmental objectives.

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“见树不见林”：重新审视澳大利亚非法采伐法案与世界贸易组织法律的一致性

在缺乏协调一致的多边行动的情况下，许多国家试图通过引入监管某些产品进口的措施来解决在外国司法管辖区发生的环境损害。在澳大利亚，《2012 年非法采伐禁令法》（联邦）和《2012 年非法采伐禁令条例》（联邦）禁止进口以违反采伐国法律的方式采伐的木材。一个悬而未决的问题是，该措施是否违反了世界贸易组织的法律。本文在联邦政府对该措施进行 10 年审查之前考虑了这个问题。为此，本文考察了该法案与关税与贸易总协定和技术性贸易壁垒协定的一致性。