WTO members set themselves a target of July this year for finalising negotiations on a plurilateral deal on investment facilitation. This week participants tried to define a path towards meeting the challenging deadline.
World Trade Organization
Perspectives: Adjusting to a new world of trade rules
Complexity and ambiguity are the new reality of global trade policy.
WTO Corner: US appeals national security cases into void, EU gets two China panels rolling
By Chris Horseman and Iana Dreyer.
THINK TANK: Trade policy’s paradigm shift sidelines WTO
War, a pandemic and the impending climate crisis have greatly impacted the global trade regime. ‘Multipurpose trade policy’ is the new game in town and the tight grip that international trade law once had over the international trading order is loosening. This paradigm shift is not without its challenges. These …
Comment: Hong Kong vs US – small is beautiful in the WTO
A World Trade Organization panel recently ruled in favour of Hong Kong in a dispute with the US regarding a requirement that imported goods should be marked as being of ‘China’ origin rather than ‘Hong Kong’ as hitherto. The panel upheld the rights of a small economy against the most …
WTO: Countdown to MC13 begins after Davos
Trade ministers from around the world have “stressed their commitment” to delivering a successful outcome at next year’s WTO ministerial conference in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
WTO e-commerce plurilateral: what negotiators need to work out in 2023
World Trade Organization members are aiming to make a final push this year towards their objective of reaching an agreement on ground rules to govern digital trade by the end of 2023. But despite the delivery of a revised negotiating text just before Christmas, there are still multiple obstacles to …
Week in Brussels: Steel safeguard WTO compliance, Chips Act, Chinese beer kegs
The wheels of the EU trade policy machinery have started to churn again this week after the Christmas break. An update on various developments by Iana Dreyer and Rob Francis.
WTO secretariat ends year with painful budget squeeze
The year at the World Trade Organization’s secretariat is ending on a bitter note amidst a row with India over the use of a 2021 budget surplus. In a context of planning uncertainty, the secretariat did not renew the contracts of around fifty consultants with time-limited work arrangements at headquarters …
WTO: EU claims victory over Colombia in first-ever MPIA arbitration case
The European Commission has claimed victory “in substance” in the first ever WTO dispute settlement case to be referred to multi-party arbitration. The three arbitrators appointed under the new multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement delivered their ruling on Wednesday (21 December) in a dispute settlement case relating to Colombian anti-dumping …
