scholarly journals WTO Disciplines and Fisheries Subsidies - Should the SCM Agreement" Be Modified?

2006 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oliver Delvos

This article considers the negotiations on a possible modification of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) in relation to fisheries subsidies. The mandate for these negotiations was given by the Doha Ministerial Declaration of 2001. The current WTO regulations are deficient in that many subsidies do not meet certain criteria of the SCM Agreement. This is mainly due to the current definition of a subsidy, the requirements for specificity and the inadequate categorisation of "red box" and "amber box" subsidies. In order to address fisheries subsidies adequately, this article contends that the SCM Agreement must be changed. The United States, the European Community, several developing countries and Japan are actively discussing this issue. After examining the different proposals, the best solution seems to be to find a common categorisation for fisheries subsidies and to identify those which lead to over-capacity and over-fishing. Such subsides should be prohibited and named in an illustrative list. Furthermore, subsidies which are not reported to the WTO should be actionable. Any country which has not fulfilled its notification duties would have the burden of proving that these subsidies are consistent with the SCM Agreement. Under new WTO rules, subsidies which are beneficial for the environment should be permitted, such as subsidies for the retirement of fishing licences, the retraining of fishers and the scrapping of old vessels.

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. 158-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Bagwell ◽  
Alan O. Sykes

This study addresses the disputes brought to the World Trade Organization (WTO) by the European Communities and the United States concerning certain Indian measures affecting the importation of automobiles and components in the form of “completely knocked down” (CKD) and “semi-knocked down” (SKD) kits. The measures in question originated during a time when India employed extensive import licensing requirements, ostensibly for balance of payments purposes. India’s broad licensing regime was challenged in 1997 by the European Communities and the United States, resulting in a settlement with the European Communities and a ruling in favor of the United States pursuant to which India agreed to abolish its import licensing system. Some restrictions in the automotive sector remained, however,which became the subject of this proceeding.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 1827-1840
Author(s):  
Flávio Marcelo Rodrigues Bruno

The present research has as its thematic approach, the (in) effectiveness of the decisions of the international commercial court from the recent economic policies for agriculture in the United States in relation to the determinations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the litigation on the granting of subsidies to cotton – Upland Cotton. It is the pretension of this research, to delimit the study of the subject in the sense of demonstrating that the United States continued to have negative impacts on the international market, even though they were defeated in the litigation against Brazil in the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. In the litigation of cotton subsidies – Upland Cotton, Brazil and the United States enter into controversy regarding the granting of this instrument of economic policy by the U.S. government to an industry in which Brazil has comparative advantages and competitive production, especially in international trade. The WTO ruling on the case has proved that the U.S. economic policy on the use of subsidies, in particular those granted to agriculture, constitute a protectionist practice that interferes negatively with international trade. An interdisciplinary legal analysis from the economic and political point of view is essential in the context of international trade relations that have a profound impact on U.S. trade policy practices.


2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. 78-87
Author(s):  
Gene M. Grossman ◽  
Petros C. Mavroidis

In United States – Countervailing Measures Concerning Certain Products from the European Communities (WTO Doc. WT/DS212/QB/R, henceforth Certain Products), the Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organization was called upon to revisit the issue of whether the United States can legally impose countervailing duties following the privatization of state-owned enterprises that had received non-recurring subsidies. In twelve cases, the United States Department of Commerce (USDOC) had applied either the “gamma method” or the “same-person method” in assessing the impact of a change of ownership on the continued existence of a benefit from a countervailable subsidy. The European Communities challenged the legality of these methods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 505-510

Trade tensions between the United States and China have escalated under the Trump administration. Some of this tension has resulted from the steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by the United States on most of its trading partners in the spring of 2018. Another major source of conflict relates to President Trump's concerns with China's perceived unfair practices in relation to intellectual property and technology rights. The Trump administration has addressed these concerns both by pursuing unilateral responses and seeking relief through the World Trade Organization (WTO).


2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 499-504 ◽  

Consistent with President Trump's America First trade agenda, his administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in early March of 2018, triggering various responses and challenges. Countries have followed through on early objections to the tariffs through retaliatory tariffs and challenges in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and steel importers have challenged the legality of these tariffs under U.S. domestic law. At the same time, these tariffs have been revised multiple times, either to delay the implementation period for certain countries seeking exemptions or to permanently grant exemptions to countries who reached negotiated arrangements with the United States.


2001 ◽  
Vol 05 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael N. Young ◽  
Justin Tan

Beijing Jeep Corporation (BJC) was founded in 1984 as one of the first and largest joint venture between an American company (American Motors Corporation) and a Chinese enterprise. Early in its operation, BJC had been given preferential treatment on tariffs and foreign exchange. Since over forty percent of the content of BJC was produced in China, it had operated as a local manufacturer under heavy protection from imports for all of its short life. All this appeared to be on the brink of changing when trade negotiators for the United States and China announced, after thirteen years of on and off negotiations, the agreement on the terms for China's entry into the World Trade Organization. The terms of the agreement called for a steep reduction in tariffs for imported automobiles from nearly one hundred percent to twenty-five percent by 2006. This would have a direct impact on BJC performance. The case focuses on the strategic challenges facing companies in the changing trade and economic environment.


2004 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungjoon Cho

On August 30, 2002, the World Trade Organization (WTO) authorized the European Communities (EC) to suspend its tariff concessions and other obligations toward the United States to the extent of U.S. $4 billion for the latter’s failure to comply with the Appellate Body’s decision that the United States had violated the WTO rules, in particular, the WTO Subsidy Code by providing the prohibited subsidies to foreign sales corporations (FSCs) in the form of tax breaks (the FSC Article 22.6 Report). The sheer scale of the EC’s suspension in response to the U.S. violation is unprecedented, far surpassing the suspensions authorized in two previous cases that invoked the WTO enforcement mechanism, Banana III and Hormones. At first glance, this dramatic finale for such a high-profile case might be welcomed as an impressive revelation of the real achievement of the WTO system equipped with teeth, unlike its predecessor the old GATT.


Ad Americam ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 15-31
Author(s):  
Iga Kleszczyńska

The United States’ Policy towards the World Trade Organization during the Presidency of Donald Trump The purpose of this article is to analyze the United States’ policy towards the World Trade Organization (WTO) during the presidency of Donald Trump. Given the stated aim, research questions allow to identify the significant priorities of American foreign policy within the Organization, trade policy challenges, and the current and future survival ofthe global exchange system. Hence, the article is focused on: the importance of the WTO for the global exchange system; the role and capabilities of the United States (US) in the Organization’s analysis; and identification of main priorities and challenges of the US foreign policy towards the WTO in the context of the current trade rivalry with China and itsimpact on the WTO’s future. The main hypothesis of the article indicates that the current US trade policy weakens the possibilities and further functioning of the WTO. The main theoretical perspective of the article is based on institutional liberalism and the theory of comparative advantage. The article has been developed by applying historical, institutional, and legal systemic and content analysis methods (in particular, government, WTO, and think tank reports and analyses).


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