Exploring the World Trade Organisation's Trade and Environment/Public Health Jurisprudence as a Model for Incorporating a Trade–Labour Linkage into the Organisation's Multilateral Trade Regime: Should African Countries Accept a Policy Shift?

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-65
Author(s):  
Tapiwa V. Warikandwa ◽  
Patrick C. Osode
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Labour Standards ◽  
The Impact

The incorporation of a trade-labour (standards) linkage into the multilateral trade regime of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been persistently opposed by developing countries, including those in Africa, on the grounds that it has the potential to weaken their competitive advantage. For that reason, low levels of compliance with core labour standards have been viewed as acceptable by African countries. However, with the impact of WTO agreements growing increasingly broader and deeper for the weaker and vulnerable economies of developing countries, the jurisprudence developed by the WTO Panels and Appellate Body regarding a trade-environment/public health linkage has the potential to address the concerns of developing countries regarding the potential negative effects of a trade-labour linkage. This article argues that the pertinent WTO Panel and Appellate Body decisions could advance the prospects of establishing a linkage of global trade participation to labour standards without any harm befalling developing countries.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE WTO TOBACCO PLAIN PACKAGING DISPUTES FOR PUBLIC HEALTH MEASURES

2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 1011-1027
Author(s):  
Andrew David Mitchell ◽  
Theodore Samlidis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Tobacco Industry ◽  
Plain Packaging ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Investment Law ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
Wto Agreements

AbstractAustralia became the first country to introduce standardised or plain packaging laws for tobacco products in 2011. However, they immediately came under direct and indirect challenge from the tobacco industry in various domestic and international fora, including at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO-consistency of Australia's measures was not settled until June 2020, when the Appellate Body upheld two WTO panels’ earlier findings that Australia had acted consistently with its obligations under certain WTO agreements. This article critically analyses the Appellate Body's key findings and their implications for implementing other public health measures. It is shown that these implications are multifaceted, have political, practical and legal dimensions and are likely to reach beyond the WTO dispute resolution system's bounds into other international trade and investment law contexts.

scholarly journals Free Trade Agreements: WTO and ASEAN Implications

2004 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 95-111
Author(s):  
Jose L. Tongzon
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Negotiations ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
Asean Countries

The World Trade Organization (WTO) (formerly GATT) was established primarily to achieve free trade across the globe based on the principle of non-discrimination and the process of multilateral trade negotiations. The fact that most countries are members of WTO reflects the worldwide belief in the benefits of a global free trade. Despite its achievements since the first round of multilateral trade negotiations was held, the effectiveness of the process has been called into question. Most WTO members are now proposing new regional trading arrangements (RTAs), such as free trade agreements (FTAs). What implication does these RTAs have for the WTO and ASEAN countries? Should ASEAN countries give regionalism priority over the WTO-based multilateral approach? To answer this questions, this paper will first summarize the motivations behind the formation of RTAs before presenting the merits and demerits of RTAs as an approach to achieve universal free trade and maximize developing countries' welfare. It is argued that despite its inherent limitations it is important for ASEAN countries to remain primarily committed to the principles of WTO and the process of multilateral trade negotiations.

Competing Cultures: Canada and the World Trade Organization — The Lessons from Sports Illustrated

1999 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 279-302
Author(s):  
Myra J. Tawfik
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Cultural Sovereignty ◽  
The World ◽  
Sports Illustrated ◽  
Canadian Culture ◽  
The Impact

SummaryThis article explores the impact of the WTO on Canadian cultural sovereignty. More specifically, it provides an assessment of the recent WTO decision in Canada — Certain Measures Concerning Periodicals in an effort to demonstrate that the multilateral trade framework is not only incompatible with, but in fact threatens, the continued viability of a distinct Canadian culture.

A Critical Analysis of Conditionalities in the Generalized System of Preferences

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 98-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
PALLAVI KISHORE
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Bank ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Generalized System ◽  
The World Bank ◽  
Generalized System Of Preferences ◽  
The World

AbstractThis article examines conditionalities in the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in light of the European Communities – Conditions for the Granting of Tariff Preferences to Developing Countries (EC – Tariff Preferences) case at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article largely undertakes this examination from the point of view of developing countries. It mainly examines the issue of discrimination in conditionalities since this was the principal question raised in the EC – Tariff Preferences case and makes suggestions regarding the regulation of conditionalities. In doing so, the article follows two trajectories: first, it makes suggestions for the WTO panels and Appellate Body, and, second, it makes suggestions for GSP donors, by analyzing the new European GSP + Scheme and by drawing inspiration from conditionalities in the loans granted by the World Bank.

scholarly journals The ‘Development’ Discourse in Multilateral Trade Lawmaking

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
NICOLAS LAMP
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Development Discourse ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
Historical Significance ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of the idea of ‘development’ in multilateral trade lawmaking is often reduced to the principle of ‘special and differential treatment’, which exempts developing countries from certain obligations imposed by the trade regime. The article shows that ‘development’ has always presented a much wider challenge to the vision of the trade regime championed by the major trading nations. The development discourse has conceived the trade regime's historical significance, the regime's aims, and the relationships among its members in ways that were often fundamentally at odds with the conception preferred by most developed countries. The article explores how the development discourse has informed lawmaking initiatives by developing countries throughout the history of the trade regime. While not all of these initiatives were successful or necessarily fruitful, they show that the pursuit of development in trade lawmaking has always been more than an effort to seek exemption from trade rules.

scholarly journals United States – Countervailing Measures Concerning Certain Products from the European Communities (WTO Doc. WT/DS212/AB/R): Recurring Misunderstanding of Non-Recurring Subsidies

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (S1) ◽  
pp. 78-87
Author(s):  
Gene M. Grossman ◽  
Petros C. Mavroidis
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
World Trade Organization ◽  
World Trade ◽  
The United States ◽  
United States Department ◽  
States Department ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
The World ◽  
Countervailing Duties ◽  
The Impact

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.

scholarly journals Glossary on free trade agreements and health part 1: the shift from multilateralism and the rise of ‘WTO-Plus’ provisions

2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-215104
Author(s):  
Courtney L McNamara ◽  
Ronald Labonte ◽  
Ashley Schram ◽  
Belinda Townsend
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trading System ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
Key Terms

The global trading system has undergone a shift away from multilateral trade negotiations to a ‘spaghetti-bowl’ of regional and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). In this two-part glossary, we discuss why this shift has occurred, focusing on how it poses new challenges for public health. Specifically, we introduce key terms that shape this new trading environment and explain them through a public health lens. Part 1 of this glossary focuses on provisions in FTAs that build on previous agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO). These provisions are commonly designated as ‘WTO-Plus’. This approach continues into part 2 of the glossary, which also considers components of FTAs that have no precedent within WTO treaties. Following a broader discussion of how the current political context and the COVID-19 pandemic shape the contemporary trade environment, part 2 considers the main areas of trade and health policy incoherence as well as recommendations to address them.

The Effectiveness of the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo Yeon Kim
Keyword(s):  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Settlement System ◽  
Trade Disputes ◽  
Trade Regime ◽  
Multilateral Trade ◽  
The World ◽  
Dispute Settlement System

The World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system is its judicial arm and enforcement mechanism, designed to assist members in resolving trade disputes that arise between them. Its design reflects a move toward greater legalization in trade governance under the multilateral trade regime. Compared with the dispute settlement system of its predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO’s dispute settlement provided a more structured and formal process with clearly defined stages and more discipline in the timetable of the dispute so as to resolve trade disputes as efficiently as possible. Most important, the WTO’s dispute settlement provides for virtually automatic adoption of panel rulings: a respondent losing a case can block the adoption only if it can persuade all members of the WTO not to do so. The legal basis for the WTO’s dispute settlement system is the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), which provides the principles and procedures by which members may bring their trade disputes to the multilateral trade regime for resolution. Overseeing the dispute settlement process is the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), which consists of all WTO members and meets regularly to receive and to adopt reports of disputes at their various stages of progress. How effective is the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism? Effectiveness can be conceptualized as success in attaining the objectives of the dispute settlement under the WTO in three areas: the efficiency of dispute settlement; inclusiveness of the dispute settlement process, especially as it concerns developing country participation; and compliance with legal obligations resulting from arbitration. The existing scholarship on this topic features key debates and frontiers for future research on firms and global production networks/value chains that have the potential to advance our state of knowledge concerning this “crown jewel” of the multilateral trade regime.

scholarly journals Barriers against Agricultural Exports from Pakistan: The Role of WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement

2003 ◽  
Vol 42 (4II) ◽  
pp. 487-510
Author(s):  
Khalid Mustafa
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Food Products ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Trade Organisation ◽  
Agricultural Exports ◽  
The World ◽  
Sanitary And Phytosanitary Agreement ◽  
The Impact

There has been growing recognition that Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement can impede trade in agricultural and food products. Pakistan, in particular experiences problems in meeting the SPS requirements of developed countries and, it is claimed, this can seriously impede its ability to export agricultural and food products. Attempts have been made to reduce the trade distortive effects of SPS measures through, for example, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) SPS Agreement, although it is claimed that current initiatives fail to address many of the key problems experienced by Pakistan and other developing countries. The present paper explores implications of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement on exports of agricultural and food products from Pakistan. It identifies the problems that Pakistan faces in meeting SPS requirements and how these relate to the nature of SPS measures and the compliance resources available to Government of Pakistan and the supply chain. The paper examines the impact of SPS agreement on the extent to which SPS measures impede exports from Pakistan. It identifies the problems that limit participation of Pakistan in the SPS agreement and its concerns about the way in which it currently operates.

A legal principle of special and differential treatment for WTO disputes

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 445-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREW D. MITCHELL
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Differential Treatment ◽  
Appellate Body ◽  
Wto Dispute Settlement ◽  
Legal Principle ◽  
The World ◽  
Wto Agreements

Based on the notion that the needs of developing countries are substantially different from those of developed countries, the principle of special and differential treatment (S&D) in the World Trade Organization (WTO) allows a certain degree of discrimination in favour of developing countries. This article considers the potential of this principle in resolving disputes within the WTO. S&D developed in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) of 1947 and is today reflected in a series of provisions in various WTO agreements. The meaning of S&D as a broader principle could assist in interpreting such provisions. In addition, the principle of S&D could conceivably be used as part of the inherent jurisdiction of Panels and the Appellate Body in connection with procedural aspects of dispute settlement. However, the article concludes that, due to the incoherence of S&D, as well as the difficulties involved in distinguishing between developing countries and in advancing their interests as an amorphous group, S&D is presently of limited value as an independent principle in WTO dispute settlement.

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