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Against the backdrop of the crisis in the WTO Appellate Body and the diminishing relevance of the multilateral trading system itself, initiating negotiations to restore the Appellate Body should still be a priority for WTO reform. For years, the US has been consistently criticizing the Appellate Body and attempting to introduce new rules targeting non-market-oriented policies and practices by obstructing the restoration the Appellate Body. The Biden administration has recently convened discussions with a few WTO Members on reforming the dispute settlement mechanism, indicating a certain flexibility in delinking the reform of the Appellate Body with the incorporation of rules targeting nonmarket-oriented policies and practices. WTO Members should seize this opportunity to understand and sort out the US demands regarding the Appellate Body, consider their acceptability on a case-by-case basis, and thereby promote negotiations for the reform of the Appellate Body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – which led to a dramatic expansion in the scope of global trade rules and made those rules legally binding on states – scholars have highlighted the constraints it has imposed on development policy space. By prohibiting many of the standard tools of the developmental state, the WTO's rules have been seen as 'kicking away the ladder' for developing countries, preventing them from using the trade and industrial policies needed to catch up with more advanced economies. However, since 2019, the US has disabled the WTO's enforcement mechanism by blocking judicial appointments to the Appellate Body. As a result, this article shows the trade and development landscape has now changed fundamentally: WTO rules – once a powerful constraint on development policy space – are no longer legally enforceable. The article analyzes two recent landmark disputes – Indonesian nickel export restrictions and Indian export subsidies provided through special economic zones – in which developing countries have successfully blocked WTO panel rulings that would force them to repeal developmentalist policies. Ironically, given that the US was originally the dominant force behind the WTO's anti-developmentalist rules and its binding dispute settlement system, one important consequence of the US Appellate Body blockage has been the re-emergence of development policy space in the multilateral trading system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the prospects for economic growth and integration of the Republic of Azerbaijan into the World Trade Organization (WTO). In the context of globalization and increasing international competition, accession to the WTO is an important step to expand trade opportunities and stimulate economic development of Azerbaijan. The article analyzes how integration into the global trading system can improve the business environment, ensure more stable and transparent conditions for doing business, and attract foreign direct investment. Particular attention is paid to how WTO membership can help Azerbaijan diversify its economy, reduce dependence on the oil sector and develop new industries such as information technology, agriculture and tourism. In a ddition, the article examines the potential challenges and risks associated with the WTO accession process. Possible negative consequences for local producers, who may face increasing competition from foreign companies are also considered. Measures to be taken to protect national interests and support domestic enterprises in the context of trade liberalization are assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Akdeniz Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Akdeniz Universitesi Hukuk Fakultesi Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The conventional wisdom is that human rights have long been off the negotiating agenda at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The failed attempt by Northern states to include a 'social clause' in WTO rules during the late 1990s and early 2000s is often cited as having foreclosed bringing human rights to bear in multilateral trade negotiations. This article challenges this traditional view, demonstrating that states are mobilizing human rights at the WTO to shape current global trade rulemaking. Moreover, in sharp contrast to the prevailing assumption that developed countries are the primary champions of human rights in the trade regime and developing countries the opponents, I show that developing countries have in fact become key protagonists in marshalling human rights at the WTO. To illustrate these claims, I examine how developing countries mobilize human rights norms, principles and discourse to shape global trade rulemaking in two of the most contentious issues in recent WTO negotiations: The use of public food stockholding for food security purposes and a TRIPS waiver to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic & Commercial Law Research is the property of Shahid Beheshti University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The grand Chinese endeavour, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a Chinese attempt to carve out its own economic development model. Technology transfer is essential to economic development and therefore it plays a central role in the BRI. While the World Trade Organization (WTO) envisages a liberal trade model for development including transfer of technology, does the BRI offer a different/alternative technology transfer model? This article deals with this question by analysing Chinese technology transfer-related policies, namely Intellectual Property (IP) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies in the context of the BRI. This article contrasts inbound/outbound Chinese technology transfer-related policies/practices and tries to forecast the impact of integrating these policies in the BRI.

The grand Chinese endeavour, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is a Chinese attempt to carve out its own economic development model. Technology transfer is essential to economic development and therefore it plays a central role in the BRI. While the World Trade Organization (WTO) envisages a liberal trade model for development including transfer of technology, does the BRI offer a different/alternative technology transfer model? This article deals with this question by analysing Chinese technology transferrelated policies, namely Intellectual Property (IP) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policies in the context of the BRI. This article contrasts inbound/outbound Chinese technology transfer-related policies/practices and tries to forecast the impact of integrating these policies in the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developed and developing members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are deeply divided on the concept, scope, and beneficiaries of the special and differential treatment (SDT) provisions. The division was revealed in the Committee on Trade and Development meetings, where developed members rejected the Group of 90's proposals to strengthen and operationalize SDT provisions in WTO agreements. This article focuses on the SDT provisions in the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), positing that the provisions are ineffective in upholding the WTO's development objectives. It analyses the extent to which the needs and circumstances of low-income developing countries and least-developed countries have been considered by the WTO adjudicating bodies through the application and interpretation of SDT provisions in the DSU. The article seeks to reimagine SDT provisions' role in the DSU through secondary lawmaking and progressive treaty interpretation to ensure development is integrated into the WTO's Dispute Settlement Mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of legal principles for intellectual property (IP) protection is related to the adequate marketing of drug patents to protect patent rights. The objective of this research is to understand and analyze the factors affecting the market concerning international law, treaties, acts, and declarations, leading to encouraging creativity, production, increased investment, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative methodology provided for an in-depth understanding and analysis of primary and secondary research data gathered from key informant interviews and published literature. The collected data were analyzed with Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threats (SWOT), a Delphi panel, and Correct, Adapt, Maintain, and Explore (CAME) analysis. The results found legal problems concerning the lack of rules to protect the rights and freedoms damaged by the monopoly on drug patents, complexities in the process of importing medicinal compounds, and how to access information with limited accessibility during COVID-19. Therefore, it is advisable to amend the law to curtail monopolies and to enact a law that prescribes rules for importing medicinal compounds to produce generic drugs in the country, including identifying the status of the patent holders. The research further paves the way for utilizing micro level research to be conducted in the development of intellectual property rights. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-SPER-016 Full Text: PDF

Copyright of International Journal of Legal & Comparative Jurisprudence Studies (LCJS) / Mağallaẗ al-Duwaliyyaẗ Li-&-Dirāsāt al-Qānūniyyaẗ Wa-al-Fiqhiyyaẗ al-Muqāranaẗ is the property of Refaad for Studies, Research & Development and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

At the 12th Ministerial Conference in June 2022, Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) reached a historic Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies that aims to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This article provides the necessary background to the Agreement, tracing briefly the history to the negotiations. After a general overview of the Agreement, three key provisions of the Agreement are examined, namely, the prohibition of subsidies to (1) illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, (2) the fishing of overexploited stocks, and (3) fisheries on the high seas outside the competence of regional fisheries management organisations. The provisions of the Agreement on special and differential treatment in favour of developing and least developed countries, as well as notable procedural and institutional features, are also considered. The remaining issues still to be addressed at the WTO are highlighted in the conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether deregulation has affected bank efficiency in the 'cross-strait' relationship between China and Taiwan. I measure bank efficiency across three periods – after Taiwan and China joined the World Trade Organization, the global financial crisis, and the signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) – and show that Taiwanese banks were significantly more efficient than their Chinese counterparts. These results show that the ECFA platform has not improved bank efficiency and thus has failed to function effectively. This finding suggests that China and Taiwan should continue negotiating within the ECFA context to enhance cross-strait financial cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past two decades scholars and policymakers have argued that carbon border adjustments (CBAs) may remove the risk of carbon leakage. This article examines two of the legal and moral issues relevant to CBAs to better understand how CBAs may be implemented to support climate change mitigation goals. World Trade Organization compliance represents a conundrum for policymakers. Although a CBA may prove meaningful for greenhouse gas emission reduction, it could also lead to trade tensions if viewed as a disguised restriction on international trade. The impact of CBAs on Global South nations also presents a concern in terms of fairness and climate justice. In this respect, in addition to undesirable economic impacts, it is increasingly accepted that support must be provided to least-developed countries in order to achieve global net-zero emission targets. CBAs do not necessarily provide this. Ultimately, there are pathways forward to ensure that trade tensions are minimized and fairness and equity are achieved in implementing CBAs. As action on climate change mitigation is urgent, this pathway forward must be carefully but rapidly navigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The market fundamentalist logic underpinning WTO agricultural trade rules poses a profound threat to global food security in the context of climate change. The growing frequency of extreme weather events raises the prospect of large-scale disruption of agricultural production and distribution. A trading system oriented towards maximizing economic efficiency and reducing redundancy risks leaving the world population acutely vulnerable to food supply disruptions. Ensuring the resilience of global food systems will require considerably more, rather than less, state intervention in agricultural and food production, including cultivating agricultural surpluses to protect against supply shocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the WTO dispute settlement system (DSS) has resolved an impressive number of US–China trade disputes. Over the past few years, however, as tensions between the two have escalated over several trade issues, the WTO has been pushed toward irrelevance since the Trump administration. Alleging that the WTO is "a disaster" and its adjudication is very unfair to the US, former President Trump made no effort to hide his criticism of the WTO and its DSS in particular. Is Trump right about the WTO DSS? Based on an examination of US–China WTO disputes and the WTO adjudicators' highly contentious interpretations of the concept of "public body" under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (the SCM Agreement) as an example, this article shows that the WTO DSS is not particularly unfair to the US. While the WTO adjudicators sometimes did not fully follow the positions advocated by the US, they have adhered to generally accepted rules of treaty interpretation and exercised great caution to remain balanced and flexible in reaching their conclusions, especially on ambiguous issues. Though not perfect, the WTO DSS works as it is intended to. Engaging in the reform of the WTO and its DSS, instead of abandoning or marginalizing the WTO, should be a wiser and more practical choice for the Biden administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For two decades scholars have used insights from constructivist approaches and principal-agent (P-A) theory to understand the relationship between states and international organisations (IOs). Together, these works identify the conditions under which IOs can operate independently of states, although they have yet to explain when and why IO bureaucrats are likely to do so. Nor do they articulate a clear and consistent definition of autonomy. In this article, we seek to fill these gaps. We advance a narrow understanding of autonomy that distinguishes unintended behaviour from the intended independence of IO bureaucrats, before developing a three-stage, integrative explanation for the conditions under which IO bureaucrats act autonomously. First, we borrow from constructivist approaches a focus on staffing rules and the identity of IO bureaucrats to explain the sources of these agents' preferences. Second, we add insights from work on exogenous pressures for change—crises and critical junctures—to explain when and why IO bureaucrats will advance their preferences. Third, we incorporate P-A theory's attention to an IO's institutional design, along with insights from literature on domestic institutions, to explain when bureaucrats can implement their preferences. Case studies of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) illustrate our argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture has been a key issue of North-South struggle at the WTO. Emerging powers like China, India and Brazil have portrayed themselves as leaders of the Global South, crusading to make the trading system fairer for developing countries. This article analyzes three cases – the cotton dispute, subsidies and public stockholding – that have been at the center of WTO negotiations and dispute settlement on agriculture since the collapse of the Doha Round. While presenting themselves as champions of the developing world, I show that the emerging powers have been advancing their own interests, often at the expense of other developing countries.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current rules on international tax do not function properly due to the gaps which allow for tax manipulation. Whereas most tax agreements largely contribute to the prevention of double taxation, they do not effectively approach double non-taxation matters arising from tax competition based on the agreements’ bilateral nature. In order to tackle this issue, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project was introduced. Developed under the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development framework, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project deals with tax avoidance practices that use mismatches and gaps in tax rules. Nevertheless, the success of this new soft law initiative requires a forum that can promote and enforce its recommendations. The structural nature of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has led to the consideration of the World Trade Organization to be this forum by many. However, the World Trade Organization covered agreements are drafted in a way that includes some of the tax competition matters but not others, including traditional tax havens. This paper aims to bridge the gaps in the area of the international tax regime. By examining the international trade and international tax regimes, it is shown that there is space for variations in the World Trade Organization broadly drafted agreements for such matters to find a resolution. It is argued that the World Trade Organization can play a complementary role in the enforcement of the new international tax rules.

The demonstrations in 2019, 2020 and thereabouts for the preservation of certain civil rights in Hong Kong, led to some suppression by the Chinese National central government. As a result, some of the special trade advantages between Hong Kong and the U.S. were lost. The economics and cultural special traits helped Hong Kong thrive. Having a judicial system separate from that of Mainland China, allowed for a more commerce producing judiciary. A key requirement for Hong Kong to be treated differently than Mainland China was for Hong Kong to have some independent autonomy, sufficient for the U.S. to see Hong Kong as a separate area politically from Mainland China. In July 2020, the U.S. made the formal decision to take away Hong Kong's special status, because a sufficiently independent Hong Kong no longer exists. This article examines the history of this phenomena and the results of having that special trade policy changed. Data from recent years show how the economy with Hong Kong and trade with Hong Kong has changed. Unfortunately, some cultural ties and exchanges between the United States and Hong Kong have also been curtailed. These changes regarding cultural ties are beyond the scope of this article. In regard to Chinese support for the United States, Ukraine and NATO, Ukraine in the war between Ukraine and Russia, this should be pointed out. China should support Ukraine, since it is in China's best interest, and it is the right action to take. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Agenda defines its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (sdg s) in terms of human rights and multilevel governance of related public goods. The global health pandemics, environmental crises, and geopolitical trade wars reveal governance failures and related ‘constitutional failures’ to protect human and constitutional rights effectively by democratic legislation, administrative and judicial remedies of citizens, and transnational rule of law. The sdg s require stronger, multilevel legal restraints on ‘market failures’ (like environmental pollution), ‘governance failures’ (like insufficient remedies against abuses of executive powers) and ‘constitutional failures’ (like neglect for transnational rule of law and the ‘Anthropocene’). Democratic legislation and citizen-driven, administrative, and judicial remedies must strengthen accountability of governments for decarbonizing economies and protecting human rights (e.g., environmental and public health protection). Worldwide protection of the sdg s requires reforming multilevel governance beyond Europe’s multilevel constitutionalism in order to prevent policy conflicts through transnational rule of law and ‘constitutional embedding’ of UN/World Trade Organization (wto) governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the US-China conflict intensifies, the United States is pursuing a 'decoupling' strategy to build a new world trade order, arguing that the current World Trade Organization (WTO) system does not properly regulate China's non-market economic system. The WTO provides special and differentiated treatment (S&DT) for developing countries. The United States argues that China should give up its developing country (DC) status. Sufficient research on the DC status and S&DT has not been conducted as a means of resolving the US-China conflict. Decoupling means the collapse of the global supply chain (GSC), which will bring substantial shock to the global economy and a catastrophe for China. This paper examines the re-classification of DC status and S&DT in the context of US-China conflict and seeks an approach for China to avoid decoupling and coexist with the United States. It would be an optimal way for China to revive the WTO first and to improve its economic system through negotiations under the WTO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What explains the design of international institutions? Existing research has largely neglected how experience in cooperation in one set of international institutions impacts on design choices made by states in other globally-oriented institutions. We contribute to this evolving debate by analyzing spillovers in experience in international trade. We argue that countries' track record of interaction in multilateral trade disputes affects the design of their preferential trade agreements (PTAs). If a country participates in a complaint against a prospective PTA partner at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the challenge in Geneva alerts the defendant's import-competing industries with respect to potential challenges under the planned PTA. As a result, these industries exert pressure on their government to preserve leeway under the future treaty, leading to increased flexibility and a lower level of enforcement in the PTA. We find support for our hypotheses in an empirical analysis of 347 PTAs concluded post 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensification of trade between countries has led to the need to regulate the conduct of trading partners. The World Trade Organization (WTO) forum emerged with the mission of arbitrating these disputes and making trade fairer. However,many countrieschoose not to participate in this forum because of the financial and legal resources required to conduct the proceedings. The purpose of this research was to verify how the relations within the WTO were configurated in 2014. We identified the dichotomy between central and emerging countries through the concept of forum shopping. The most important actors in the network were shown to be the United States and the European Union, whereas small economies had low participation,especially African and Central American countries. Thus,this study shows that many WTO’s members do not use its forum,which allows inferringtheychoose regional forums due to the restriction of resources.

Since inception more than 20 years ago of the World Trade Organization (WTO), as the main institutionalizing force in the sphere of trade, the developing countries have sought to achieve special recognition and attitude within the multilateral system to address their own structural and systemic problems. However, the influence of global institutionalization within the framework of WTO on the foreign trade of member countries remains debatable. The article aims its research at the influence of global institutionalization within the framework of WTO on the foreign trade flows of Ukraine. The objective is to assess the influence of the global institutionalization within the framework of WTO on the foreign trade of Ukraine and to elaborate a roadmap to improve the national institutional environment. The main method is gravitational modelling. The Index of Economic Freedom of The Heritage Foundation, the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum and the global indicators of the World Bank are used separately in the built models as institutional variables. All models also contain fictitious variables that indicate membership in the WTO or the regional trade agreements (RTA) of two countries. The sample includes all the countries that have been trading partners of Ukraine for the last 20 years. The following results are obtained: 6 gravitational models are built, allowing to calculate the possible growth rate of Ukrainian exports due to approximation of the institutional variables of Ukraine to the Central European level and to develop a roadmap to improve the national institutional environment. The calculated increase percentage shows that te global institutionalization within the framework of WTO can have a positive influence on Ukraine’s foreign trade flows, and gravity modelling can facilitate the determining how to improve the national institutional structure of Ukraine.

Russia has already been being a WTO country-member for 5 years and as a participant obliged to meet requirements of this organization in all sectors of the Russian economy, including banking. In the article the main rules of the banking market functioning as they are written in the Financial Annex to GATS are observed. It contains the short historic reference of the WTO standard implementations in national banking legislation. The author reviewed horizontal and vertical exceptions from the national arrangement of the presence of foreign banks in the Russian market.