The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement of the World Trade Organization: Debunking Its Reliance on Scientific Evidence and Reluctance to Endorse Potential Biotechnology Risks

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Muhammad ISLAM
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Scientific Uncertainty ◽  
The World ◽  
Precautionary Measures ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures ◽  
Biotech Products

The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) relies on scientific evidence as a conclusive risk assessment criterion, which ignores the inherent limitations of science. This article highlights certain trade-restrictive effects of scientific evidence and comments on the Agreement’s aversions to precautionary measures and the consumer concern of the harmful effects of biotech products that may be necessary to protect public health and biosecurity in many WTO Member States. These measures and concerns have become pressing issues due to surging consumer awareness and vigilance concerning environmental protection and food safety. The Agreement is yet to overcome the weaknesses of its endorsed international standardising bodies, the problematic definition of scientific evidence and treatment of justification for scientific risk assessment methods and the implementation difficulties faced by most developing states. This article analyses these issues under the provisions of the Agreement and the interpretations of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body in disputes involving SPS matters, which fall short of addressing scientific uncertainty surrounding biotech products and their associated risks.

scholarly journals Trade-Related Environmental Measures under the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Malaysia: The Analysis of its’ Application

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanti Ahmad Shafiee ◽  
Asmah Laili Yeon
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The World ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures ◽  
Environmental Measures ◽  
Wto Agreements

The objective of this study is to explore the application of trade-related environmental measures in Malaysia. Trade-related environmental measures are environmental measures that were invoked which may have an effect on international trade. These measures can be in the form of tariff and non- tariff. As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Malaysia is compelled to apply and implement the environmental provisions of the General Agreement of Tariff and Trade (GATT) and the WTO agreements. However, the ability to fully comply with these agreements needs to be determined as Malaysia’s effort in environmental protection could affect its international trading. In this study the analysis was on Malaysia’s domestic legislations; the GATT, especially Article XX; WTO agreements such as the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and the WTO Dispute Settlement Body decided cases. Secondary data such as journal articles were referred. It is expected that this study could assist in determining the efforts made by Malaysia in finding a balance between international trade and environmental protection.  

The Reasoning Structure in Legal Disputes on the International Trade of Biotechnology: From a Judicial Balance by Chance to a Judicial Balance by Design

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Alessandra GUIDA
Keyword(s):  
International Trade ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Technology Innovation ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Trade Restrictions ◽  
Competing Interests ◽  
The World ◽  
National Economies ◽  
Biotech Products

The international trade in biotech products boosts national economies and advances scientific as well as technology innovation. However, while trading these products increases the spread of benefits on a global scale, it also increases risks to human health and the environment (ie biosafety). This is because the effects of this technology on biosafety are still highly uncertain. Against this background, the judicial bodies under the World Trade Organization (WTO) find themselves in the middle of an intricate and polarised debate in which a proper judicial balance between free trade and biosafety becomes fundamental in order to determine whether requests for ensuring human and environmental health justify trade restrictions. This paper aims to highlight that the WTO is institutionally unready for balancing economic and non-economic values. In suggesting how to rationalise the judicial balance between the competing interests in the context of biotechnology, this paper demonstrates that the judicial adoption of a well-structured proportionality analysis can turn the current balance by chance into a balance by structure.

European Communities —Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products. WT/DS291/R, WT/DS292/R, & WT/DS293/R

2007 ◽  
Vol 101 (2) ◽  
pp. 453-459
Author(s):  
Daniel Bodansky ◽  
Simon Lester
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
The United States ◽  
Regulatory Regime ◽  
Panel Report ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures ◽  
Biotech Products

European Communities—Measures Affecting the Approval and Marketing of Biotech Products. WT/DS291/R, WT/DS292/R, & WT/DS293/R. At <http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_status_e.htm>.World Trade Organization Panel, September 29, 2006 (adopted November 21, 2006).In what was by far the longest panel report in the World Trade Organization’s history, a WTO panel ruled last September that various parts of the European Communities’ regulatory regime for the approval and marketing of “biotech products” (that is, products that contain, or are made from or with, genetically modified organisms (GMOs)) violated the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). The panel report was not appealed and was adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body on November 21, 2006.In recent years, a heated international debate has developed regarding the production and consumption of food made from or with GMOs. Among the key players in this debate, the United States, supported by many companies who have developed GMO-based products, has pushed for their acceptance; by contrast, the European Communities (EC) and its member states, backed by consumer groups and other activists, have tried to restrict their use through various regulations.

The Role of Risk Assessment in Precautionary Intervention: A Comparison of Judicial Trends in the EC and WTO

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 455-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elen Stokes
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
European Community ◽  
Precautionary Principle ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Case Law ◽  
World Trade Organisation ◽  
The Precautionary Principle ◽  
The World ◽  
Phytosanitary Measures

AbstractThis paper focuses on the meanings attached to the "precautionary principle" in judgments passed down by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the European Community (EC) courts. It speaks to claims that, in response to WTO litigation, the EC courts are beginning to construe the precautionary principle in a manner that more closely resembles obligations arising from the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the SPS Agreement). It illustrates that although disparities between interpretations in EC and WTO case law of legitimate precautionary intervention are growing to be less obvious, inconsistencies continue to exist.

Conclusion

2019 ◽  
pp. 312-332
Author(s):  
Sivan Shlomo Agon
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Institutional Changes ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
The World ◽  
International Adjudication ◽  
Dispute Settlement System

The present chapter concludes the work. It sums up the key findings of the study while discussing the results emerging from a comparative analysis of the three categories of disputes examined throughout the book. The chapter then revisits the central arguments put forth in the book and articulates the lessons to be learned for the study of the goals, operation, and effectiveness of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement System (DSS), and of international courts more broadly. It also discusses some of the insights to be offered with respect to possible institutional changes or reforms of the WTO DSS, with a view to ensuring the system’s future effectiveness. The chapter closes with several observations that go beyond effectiveness, pertaining to the costs and unintended consequences attendant on more effective and empowered international adjudication.

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