Suchergebnisse

WTO contains a set of disciplines that affect the ability of governments to impose trade restrictions, and has helped to support the steady expansion of international trade since the 1950s. The WTO has been the focus of vociferous protests by anti-globalization activists and has experienced great difficulties in agreeing to new trade rules since its establishment. At the same time it has become the premier global forum for the settlement of trade disputes and has proven to provide a robust framework for international cooperation in the trade area. This book separates the facts from the propaganda and provides an accessible overview of the WTO's history, structure and policies as well as a discussion of the future of the organization.

Canada-Renewable Energy presented the WTO Panel and Appellate Body (AB) with a novel issue: at the heart of the dispute was a measure adopted by the province of Ontario whereby producers of renewable energy would be paid a premium relative to conventional power producers. Some WTO Members complained that the measure was a prohibited subsidy because payments were conditional upon using Canadian equipment for the production of renewable energy. The AB gave them right only in part: it found that a local content requirement had indeed been imposed, but also found that it lacked evidence to determine whether a subsidy had been bestowed. The report is, for the reasons explained below, incoherent and could hardly serve as precedent for resolution of similar conflicts in the future. The facts of the case though, do raise legitimate questions both with respect to the specifics of the case, as well as of more general nature regarding the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement), and the role of the judge when facing legislative failure. In this paper, we provide some responses to these questions in light of the theory and evidence regarding industrial policy in the name of environmental protection.

This paper deals with the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization and its rise to prominence in the world trading system. The Appellate Body was not conceived by the Uruguay Round negotiators as the centerpiece of the WTO dispute settlement system. It was more an afterthought, linked to the introduction of the quasi-automatic adoption of panel reports under the new dispute settlement system. In little time, however, the Appellate Body grew into the most important and authoritative organ of WTO dispute settlement. The Appellate Body is now, in all but name, the World Trade Court. The significance of its contribution to the development of international trade law is generally recognized. Critics even accused the Appellate Body of having engaged in judicial legislation. This paper does not seek to assess whether the Appellate Body did indeed exceed its judicial mandate. The purpose of this paper is to recall the unassuming origins of the Appellate Body and to discuss the factors that have contributed to its rise to prominence over the last decade. These factors are multiple and often closely related. They include the first and subsequent compositions of the Appellate Body; the Working Procedures for Appellate Review; the early embracement and consistent application of the rules of interpretation of the Vienna Convention; the frequent and broad recourse to appellate review; the manner in which the Appellate Body used its authority of appellate review; and, finally, the case law of the Appellate Body to date, and in particular the case law balancing free trade and other societal values and the case law ensuring the fairness and effectiveness of the WTO dispute settlement system. It is important to identify and correctly appreciate these factors because the Appellate Body will retain its current status and role in the world trading system only to the extent that these factors continue to be sufficiently present.

The Russian Federation is strongly involved in globalization process. As a part of the BRIC countries Russia tries to become an industrial country, to develop manufacture and concurrence. Recently the Russian Criminal Code was revised in order to make Russia more attractive for investors. The punishments for the significant part of medium and little gravity economic crimes were commuted. By the Federal Statute №244 from September 28, 2010"About Innovation Centre "Skolkovo" Innovation Centre Skolkovo was established in 2010 year. December 16, 2011, Russia joined the WTO. The legislation in the Russian Federation develops very fast and tries to conform to necessities of the day. Accession to the WTO and fulfilment of taken obligations, creation of conditions for development of innovations with liberalization of laws directed at facilitation of conditions for running business should, hopefully, raise the competitiveness of Russian economy and lead in the future to the transformation from row-materials orientated to developed industrial economy.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.em.17.2.2176

The term "WTO Reform" was officially mentioned for the first time at the WTO General Council meeting in July 2017. Ever since, the discussion has revolved around the issues of WTO dispute settlement system, stateowned enterprises (SOEs), industrial subsidies leading to overcapacity, transparency, notification on domestic agricultural supports, forced transfer of technology, and digital economy. Among these topics, particularly three WTO Members – the United States, the European Union, and Japan – have been ardent supporters for fixing WTO subsidy rules. Together they have launched an initiative to strengthen trilateral cooperation for WTO reform on subsidy disciplines. Through a total of five joint statements so far they have shared concerns with regard to non-market-oriented policies and practices in some WTO Members and stressed the need for WTO reform, arguing that the current WTO subsidy rules need to be reinforced so that emerging economies like China cannot avoid their application. It is expected that the first draft proposal of these three Members will be produced by the end of this year at the earliest. Reportedly they will invite a limited number of like-minded countries first, and subsequently will make public the draft text as they intend to expand participation to all willing WTO Members. The main focus lies in how to adequately address China's SOE subsidies under WTO agreements. For this purpose, it is necessary to take a look at the current WTO disciplines applicable to Chinese SOEs. The current law applies to: (i) where SOEs conduct commercial activities in terms of importation and exportation (Article XVII GATT); and (ii) where a government or public bodies grant subsidies to its domestic enterprises or industries (WTO Subsidies Agreement). This KIEP Opinion will focus on the second issue. It will be discussed whether Chinese SOEs can be seen as public bodies under the WTO Subsidies Agreement, and how effective the current rule is in addressing China's SOE subsidies. Further, it would be fruitful to look into SOE-related "WTO plus" elements in some of the recent regional trade agreements. For this, CPTPP Chapter 17 and USMCA Chapter 22 will be examined and compared with WTO subsidy rules.