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Abstract
In the past twenty years, decisions on global environmental regulations have increasingly originated in Brussels instead of Washington. Many European Union (EU) environmental laws are having effects well beyond the borders of the EU. This thesis examines three EU environmental policies to determine the extent to which they are having an "EU Effect" in the United States (U.S.). The impact is measured at the market, state, and federal levels. The thesis also explores the role that economic context, regulatory learning, and political context have had on the diffusion of these three policies. The three policies examined include two directives, RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) and WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), and one regulation, REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals). Each of these environmental policies is impacting the U.S. at the market, state, and federal levels, albeit to varying degrees.
