In response, the White House has proposed new rules that call for U.S. trade officials to review how proposed market-opening agreements would impact the environment.

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It set up three new UN conventions through which agreements to safeguard the global environment could be crafted.

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He favors new trade agreements that would include provisions to protect American workers and the environment.

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More important, the ruling does not settle the more troubling issue of whether international trade agreements signed by the federal government supersede local laws on the environment or safety, as well as those imposing human-rights sanctions.

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But the reality is that in that environment, the coalition has worked extremely well and extremely quickly to come to these agreements.

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The Obama administration supports moving ahead with those agreements, provided they adhere to certain standards, particularly on labor and the environment.

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