Complexity and ambiguity are the new reality of global trade policy.
WTO crisis and reform
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 …
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 Corner: TRIPS waiver, dispute settlement reform
There’s a lot of gridlock at the WTO – as revealed by this week’s General Council meeting. But at least members continue to ‘talk’.
United States faces grilling over its trade policies in Geneva
The United States’ trade policy is this week’s focus at the World Trade Organization in Geneva. The country’s trade policy review happens in principle every two years. Given recent developments and the United States’ global status, the TPR attracted particularly strong interest from other members of the global trade institution. …
WTO panel rules US Section 232 steel, aluminium tariffs illegal
Panellists in the dispute settlement cases brought by China, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey in an almost coordinated fashion after 2018 could no longer delay the publication of perhaps the politically most salient case in the World Trade Organization’s twenty-seven year history: the United States Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs. …
WTO Corner: Return of the Stalemate
Following the various successes achieved at this summer’s 12th ministerial conference the WTO has rapidly reverted to a status which has become rather more familiar over recent years – political stalemate.
INTERVIEW: WTO members need ways to ‘agree to disagree’ on security
Members of the World Trade Organization are increasingly using security as a reason to restrict trade and investment in a discriminatory way. Borderlex’s Iana Dreyer spoke to Mona Paulsen about how they can be made – somewhat – accountable for not abusing their powers. *** Recently described as a ‘black …
WTO Corner: G20 words vs realities
G20 leaders, who gathered in Indonesia this week, had some warm words for the World Trade Organization and global trade cooperation. But the reality on the ground looks different. The latest on WTO issues by Chris Horseman and Rob Francis.
Perspectives: The cost of failing to reform the WTO needs taking seriously
Optimism surrounding the outcome of June’s WTO Ministerial has dissipated with regards to putting in place a fully functioning dispute settlement system. There is considerable economic risk from failure to which policy-makers should be paying much greater attention.
