Legal position of sustainable development in the legal system of global trade

In the twentieth century, with an emphasis on the principle of sovereign equality of states, a framework for global trade was established. Simultaneously, the importance of achieving balanced development between industrialized and developing countries was highlighted. This period witnessed the integration of development and global trade, alongside a significant increase in the production and international exchange of goods, which unfortunately caused considerable environmental damage. This situation revealed the necessity for more stringent environmental care and control within the structure of global trade. The concept of sustainable development emerged as a bridge between development and trade and quickly gained attention, leading to the formulation of multilateral environmental agreements within the framework of international environmental law. This article examines how sustainable development has been adopted and transformed into a global strategy, its influence on international policies, laws, and documents, and its implementation in international judicial processes. Nevertheless, the facilitation of environmental agreements by the rules of the world trade organization remains unclear, and the inconsistencies between trade practices and environmental measures have rendered the legitimacy and credibility of some of these actions ambiguous. This has led to conservatism and uncertainty in the implementation of environmental agreements, indicating that sustainable development can only be effectively applied in trade policies when it is integrated and intertwined with its constituent elements.