EU proposes new WTO reform to safeguard dispute settlement body

26th November 2018

By: Bloomberg

  

Font size: - +

The European Union (EU) unveiled a new proposal that seeks to stave off paralysis of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO's) dispute settlement system by unblocking the appointment of its appellate body members, according to a statement Monday.

The proposal has the backing of Australia, Canada, China, Iceland, India, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland.

“The appellate body function of the WTO dispute settlement system is moving towards a cliff’s edge,” EU trade chief Cecilia Malmstrom said in the statement.

“Without this core function of the WTO, the world would lose a system that has ensured stability in global trade for decades.”

The proposal will be presented at the WTO’s General Council on December 12.

For more than a year, the Trump administration has blocked appointments to the appellate body, which has the final say in upholding, modifying or reversing rulings that often affect some of the world’s biggest companies and billions of dollars in commerce. If the US continues its hold, the body will be paralysed in late 2019 because it won’t have the three panelists required to sign off on rulings.

The EU paper is important because it aims to shift the WTO’s nascent reform discussions toward negotiations on a concrete text.

The proposal won’t advance until the US and the rest of the WTO’s 164 members agree to amend the WTO dispute settlement understanding, which is considered to be a significant undertaking.

The proposal is unlikely to gain the backing of the US, which has criticised the appellate body for overstepping its mandate with aggressive interpretations of WTO rules.

Edited by Bloomberg

Comments

The functionality you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION