Almost invariably, public discussion of programs for the protection of the environment has emphasized their international implications. Two central issues have emerged from the debates. First, questions have been raised about the effects upon the competitive position in international trade of the country undertaking the program. It has been suggested, particularly by representatives of industries likely to bear the costs, that the proposed measures would impose on exporters a severe handicap in world markets that is certain to have an adverse effect on the nation's balance of payments, its employment levels, and its GNP. This problem has proved particularly frightening to the less-affluent nations, but even in wealthy countries it has been a persistent concern.

The second issue in this area is quite a different matter; it involves the transportation across national boundaries, not of commodities desired by the recipient nation, but of pollutants whose influx it seems powerless to prevent. Although there is a good deal of talk of international cooperation in the control of transnational pollution, joint programs like those we have already discussed will undoubtedly prove difficult to institute. Therefore, it is important to consider whether the victim nation can do anything to protect itself in the absence of something better in the form of effective collective measures. Obviously, where international cooperation can be achieved, the theoretical analysis that has been described in earlier chapters applies equally to international and domestic policy. It is only in the absence of joint action that an analysis of special measures for an effective international policy is required.