Russia and the United States rarely agree on anything in global politics. But Washington was the only World Trade Organization member that supported Moscow in a highly-politicised legal argument at the organisation’s dispute settlement body that many see as entailing systemic ramifications for the multilateral trading system.
World Trade Organization
More WTO members announce retaliation against EU steel safeguards
The European Union introduced a safeguard against imports of steel last January. The move was made in response to the United States import restrictions on steel under Section 232 in 2018 and aims to avoid the European market from being flooded by metal diverted away from North America. But Brussels’ …
EU sues India and Turkey at WTO over tariffs and intellectual property violations
The European Union is suing India over recent tariff increases above its bound rates in the World Trade Organization. Brussels is also filing a case against Turkey due to what the EU thinks is WTO-inconsistent treatment of its pharmaceutical companies. India tariffs Since 2014, India has been gradually increasing import …
Week ahead in EU trade: EU-US, China, Chile, Tunisia, E-commerce
April could see a slowdown in decision-making in trade policy in Brussels. But this does not mean there will be less anxiety over two major files: EU-US trade relations and Brexit. In April we will also see new developments on EU-Chile and EU-Tunisia trade negotiations and on e-commerce. Continued EU-US, …
Comment: We won, both losers said
If it weren’t for the amounts of money involved in the case and in the fifteen-year-old legal saga, one could dismiss the triumphant statements made by the European Union and the United States after yesterday’s Appellate Body ruling as childish boasting. What’s important now for the future viability of the …
Venezuela crisis adds fuel to WTO dispute settlement crisis
Some trade policy experts have warned that World Trade Organization cases involving national security topics could destroy the institution. A new incident in Geneva shows that at the very least it’s getting rockier by the day for the rules-based system for adjudicating trade disputes. Such warnings were made as the …
Beyond Brussels: WTO digital talks get off to uneasy start
This week more than half the World Trade Organization’s membership formally kick-started negotiations towards a ‘plurilateral’ agreement on e-commerce.
Blog: Brexit and agriculture TRQs dominate week in WTO
Geneva officials are busy with meetings at the World Trade Organization. Ahead of Friday’s General Council meeting where we can expect a big showdown on all things Appellate Body and WTO ‘reform’, here a short update on some other committee meetings held so far this week. The focus was Brexit …
Commission hopes for swift mandate for US trade talks – debate on fish, speed and WTO continues
Member state trade ministers gathered in the Romanian capital Bucharest today to take stock of current European Union trade files. The most pressing issue on the table was the EU-US trade relationship. But capitals also discussed the way forward for the World Trade Organization and other bilateral trade files. Despite …
Beyond Brussels: Success at Davos as countries agree to start digital trade talks
Four dozen World Trade Organization members including the EU, China and the US will kick off negotiations on digital trade in March in a move designed to reinvigorate the beleaguered trade body. Meanwhile, a group of ‘like-minded’ members led by Canada warned that risks to the multilateral trading system – …
