Organizing in a European context
VOTOB director Streekstra thinks it is an important law, but applying it only at the national level will only have negative consequences, according to him. “All of our members are obviously involved in IMVO, but if the Netherlands is too far ahead of the curve, that is not always well understood by our foreign investors,” Streekstra explains. “That’s why the Netherlands has to organize it in a European context.”
“All our members are naturally involved in IMVO”
The future Responsible and sustainable international trade law, as it is officially called, must ensure that violations of human rights and the environment are prevented during the conduct of foreign trade. At the moment the law is still in the preliminary phase, but it will soon have to be discussed and voted on.
But according to Streekstra, it is not the intention for the law to be discussed only at the national level. ‘We agreed in Europe that we would do it together,’ she explains. ‘Furthermore, companies in our sector often have an international or European orientation. That is why the Netherlands has to work with other member states when it comes to this type of legislation.’
The judge is already pronouncing
Although the law has not yet entered into force, the Dutch court is already setting requirements for the export of fuel abroad. Earlier this year, for example, two gas stations in Amsterdam went to court to get new standards off the table. The terminals exported petrol to Africa, which contained more pollutants than allowed in the Netherlands. According to the new standards of the Inspectorate of the Human Environment and Transport (ILT), this is not allowed, even if the petrol was destined for foreign countries where different environmental standards apply.
Terminals said the standards set have no legal basis because the House of Representatives did not act on the political norm. Furthermore, the standards were detrimental to competitiveness, because neighboring countries could export the same gasoline – with the same amount of pollutants – without problems. However, the judge thought otherwise.