WTO dispute settlement system reform discussions are getting off to a timid start. This comes as decisive alternative appeals arbitration panels are gradually coming on stream in Geneva.
WTO dispute settlement
South Africa files case against EU citrus import measures at WTO
A last little present for the August holidays brought to us from the southern hemisphere. South Africa requested consultations today with the EU in Geneva regarding measures applied mid July which add extra precautionary measures on its citrus fruit shipments from overseas. The measures are taken prima facie to avert …
Arbitrators issue first post-Appellate Body report in Geneva
Appeal arbitrators issued the first ruling that follows the demise of the Appellate Body in late 2019 at the World Trade Organization. The format and content of the award give an initial indication of what the future of WTO dispute settlement might be.
WTO Corner : TRIPS waiver work, Korean washers
After the climax of an overall successful 12th ministerial conference mid-June at the World Trade Organization’s headquarters in Geneva came a few weeks of quiet as a summer break looms for trade diplomats. South Africa, India press for swift work on TRIPS waiver extension Some WTO members however are keen …
The WTO’s new ‘Geneva Package’: What’s been agreed?
WTO trade ministers have brought the institution’s 12th ministerial to a successful conclusion with a compromise deal on a package of measures on a TRIPS waiver, agriculture, fisheries and WTO reform. The deal, which has been christened the ‘Geneva Package’ by diplomats, also includes a 2-year extension of the existing …
WTO panel lenient on EU steel safeguard
Part Two of the recent Turkey-EU trade dispute settlement saga around pharmaceuticals and steel is ending today with a panel report that goes easy on Brussels in its handling of its 2018 steel safeguard measure. Even if the panel did not give the EU a clean slate in the way …
WTO: Turkey to appeal EU pharma case win in ad hoc arbitration mechanism
The MPIA will once again have to wait. But Turkey and the EU are setting a precedent by using an alternative World Trade Organization appeals mechanism to settle their legal scores as the appellate body continues to lie dormant.
US takes more conciliatory tone on WTO appeals
The United States is “prepared for deepened engagement” with other WTO members on the role of the Appellate Body and other questions relating to the functioning of the Organization, according to the country’s recently-appointed ambassador to the WTO, María Luisa Pagán. But she has refused to lift the US’s long-standing …
WTO Corner : June M12 dates, Russia fallout, Turkey, carbon accounting
The General Council of the WTO met informally today to take stock of a range of issues, but most importantly to try to nail down a definitive date for the next ministerial conference – also known at MC12.
EU launches first WTO case against UK over wind energy subsidy scheme
The European Commission has made post-Brexit history by launching the first WTO dispute settlement case to be lodged against the United Kingdom.
