Presentation 8 - World Trade Organisation.pptx

WTO

1. Dr VK PDPU 1 Timeline – 2,3 Intro – 4 Members - 5 Main activities - 6, 7 Organisation Chart – 8 Decision Making- 9, 10 Groups -11 Topics – 12 to 19 Dispute Settlement -20 to 24 Recent – 25, 26 Questions - 27

2. 1947  October - 23 countries sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Geneva, Switzerland, to try to give an early boost to trade liberalisation . ( India was there) 1947  November - Delegates from 56 countries meet in Havana, Cuba, to start negotiating the charter of a proposed International Trade Organisation . (India was there) 1948  1 January - GATT agreement comes into force. 1948  March - Charter of International Trade Organisation signed but US Congress rejects it, leaving GATT as the only international instrument governing world trade. 2 nd 3 rd 4 th 5 th 6 th 7 th rounds …reducing not only tariffs but trade barriers as well, such as subsidies and import licensing.  1986-93  : Uruguay Round 1994  - Trade ministers meet for the final time under GATT auspices at Marrakesh, Morocco to establish the World Trade Organization (WTO) and complete the Uruguay Round. 1995  - The WTO is created in Geneva 1999  - At least 30,000 protesters disrupt WTO summit in Seattle, US Dr VK PDPU 2

3. 2001  November - WTO members meeting in Doha, Qatar, agree on the Doha Development Agenda, the ninth trade round which is intended to open negotiations on opening markets to agricultural, manufactured goods, and services. 2001  December - China formally joins the WTO. Taiwan is admitted weeks later. 2002  August - WTO rules in favour of the EU in its row with Washington over tax breaks for US exporters. The EU gets the go-ahead to impose $4bn in sanctions against the US, the highest damages ever awarded by the WTO. 2002  Former Thai deputy prime minister Supachai Panitchpakdi begins a three-year term as director-general. He is the first WTO head to come from a developing nation. 2011  December - Russia joins the WTO after 18 years negotiating its membership. Switzerland brokered a deal to persuade Georgia to lift its veto, which it had imposed after the 2008 Russo-Georgian war. 2015 , the WTO reached a significant milestone with the receipt of its 500th trade dispute for settlement. 2017 WTO members concluded negotiations at the  2013 Bali Ministerial Conference  on the landmark  Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) , which entered into force on 2017  2020 – 25 th Anniversary Dr VK PDPU 3

4. WTO, which was established in 1995, and its predecessor organization the GATT have helped to create a strong and prosperous international trading system, thereby contributing to unprecedented global economic growth. The WTO currently has 164 members, of which 117 are developing countries or separate customs territories . WTO activities are supported by a Secretariat, led by the WTO Director-General. The Secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland The three official languages of the WTO are English, French and Spanish. Dr VK PDPU 4

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6. https://www.wto.org/ Dr VK PDPU 6

7. The WTO's main activities are : negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade (import tariffs, other barriers to trade) and agreeing on rules governing the conduct of international trade (e.g. antidumping, subsidies, product standards, etc .) administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property rights monitoring and reviewing the trade policies of our members, as well as ensuring transparency of regional and bilateral trade agreements settling disputes among members regarding the interpretation and application of the agreements building capacity of developing country government officials in international trade matters assisting the process of accession of some 30 countries who are not yet members of the organization conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in support of the WTO's other main activities explaining to and educating the public about the WTO, its mission and its activities. Dr VK PDPU 7

8. https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org2_e.htm Dr VK PDPU 8

9. Decisions in the WTO are generally taken by consensus of the entire membership . The highest institutional body is the  Ministerial Conference , which meets roughly every two years. A   General Council  conducts the organization's business in the intervals between Ministerial Conferences. Both of these bodies comprise all members . Specialised subsidiary bodies (Councils, Committees, Sub-committees), also comprising all members, administer and monitor the implementation by members of the various WTO agreements . Dr VK PDPU 9

10. Green Room The informal name of the director-general's conference room. It is used to refer to meetings of 20-40 delegations, usually at the level of heads of delegations. These meetings can take place elsewhere, such as at Ministerial Conferences, and can be called by the minister chairing the conference as well as the director-general World Trade Organization (WTO) Green Room meetings are small gatherings of representatives from up to 30 member countries, invited by the Director-General. They are designed to provide the basis for a consensus on critical negotiating issues that can be brought to the WTO membership as a whole. Green rooms appear to be a necessary feature of consensus building in such a large organization, but they have been criticized because they tend to favor representation from large and high-income member countries. Jones K. Green room politics and the WTO’s crisis of representation.  Progress in Development Studies . 2009;9(4):349-357. doi: 10.1177/146499340900900408 Dr VK PDPU 10

11. Groups in the negotiations A number of countries have formed coalitions in the WTO. These groups often speak with one voice using a single coordinator or negotiating team. There are some of the most active groups in the WTO. Sponsors of TN/C/W/52, a proposal for “modalities” in negotiations on geographical indications (the multilateral register for wines and spirits, and extending the higher level of protection beyond wines and spirits) and “disclosure” (patent applicants to disclose the origin of genetic resources and traditional knowledge used in the inventions).  Dr VK PDPU 11

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13. Agriculture WTO members have taken steps to reform the agriculture sector and to address the subsidies and high trade barriers that distort agricultural trade. The overall aim is to establish a fairer trading system that will increase market access and improve the livelihoods of farmers around the world. The WTO Agreement on Agriculture, which came into force in 1995, represents a significant step towards reforming agricultural trade and making it fairer and more competitive. The  Agriculture Committee  oversees implementation of the Agreement. Members continue to conduct   negotiations  for further reform. In 2015, they adopted a historic decision to abolish agricultural export subsidies and to set rules for other forms of farm export Dr VK PDPU 13

14. Rules of origin Determining where a product comes from is no longer easy when raw materials and parts criss -cross the globe to be used as inputs in scattered manufacturing plants. Rules of origin are therefore needed to attribute one country of origin to each product. They are the criteria used to define where a product was made and are important for implementing other trade policy measures, including trade preferences (preferential rules of origin), quotas, anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties (non-preferential rules of origin). Dr VK PDPU 14

15. Anti-dumping If a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market, it is said to be “dumping” the product. The WTO Agreement does not regulate the actions of companies engaged in “dumping”. Its focus is on how governments can or cannot react to dumping — it disciplines anti-dumping actions, and it is often called the “Anti-dumping Agreement”. Dr VK PDPU 15

16. Safeguard measures A WTO member may take a “safeguard” action (i.e., restrict imports of a product temporarily) to protect a specific domestic industry from an increase in imports of any product which is causing, or which is threatening to cause, serious injury to the industry. Safeguard measures were always available under the GATT (Article XIX). However, they were infrequently used, and some governments preferred to protect their industries through “grey area” measures (“voluntary” export restraint arrangements on products such as cars, steel and semiconductors). The WTO Safeguards Agreement broke new ground in prohibiting “grey area” measures and setting time limits (“sunset clause”) on all safeguard actions. Dr VK PDPU 16

17. Subsidies and countervailing measures The WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures disciplines the use of subsidies, and it regulates the actions countries can take to counter the effects of subsidies. Under the agreement, a country can use the WTO’s dispute-settlement procedure to seek the withdrawal of the subsidy or the removal of its adverse effects. Or the country can launch its own investigation and ultimately charge extra duty (“ countervailing duty ”) on subsidized imports that are found to be hurting domestic producers. Dr VK PDPU 17

18. Trade facilitation Bureaucratic delays and “red tape” pose a burden for moving goods across borders for traders. Trade facilitation—the simplification, modernization and harmonization of export and import processes—has therefore emerged as an important issue for the world trading system. Dr VK PDPU 18

19. Services negotiations WTO members continue discussions on advancing negotiations to achieve a higher level of market opening, as mandated in Article XIX of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). These talks began in 2000 under the original mandate contained in the GATS and became part of the Doha Round at the 2001 Doha Ministerial Conference. In 2011, members agreed on a waiver allowing preferential treatment to be granted to services and service suppliers of least-developed countries. SERVICES TOPICS The GATS covers all services, with few exceptions. Business and professional services [+] Communication services [+] Construction and related services Distribution services Educational services Energy services Environmental services Financial services Health and social services Tourism services Transport services  I-TIP Services is a joint initiative of the World Trade Organization and the World Bank. It is a set of linked databases that provides information on Members' commitments under the WTO's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), services commitments in regional trade agreements (RTA), applied measures in services, and services statistics. Dr VK PDPU 19

20. UNDERSTANDING THE WTO’s SETTLING DISPUTES Dispute settlement is the central pillar of the multilateral trading system WTO’s unique contribution to the stability of the global economy WTO’s procedure underscores the rule of law Disputes in the WTO are essentially about broken promises. If trading rules violated, WTO members will use the multilateral system of settling disputes instead of taking action unilaterally. WTO sets out in considerable detail the procedures and the timetable to be followed in resolving disputes. Preferred solution is for the countries concerned to discuss their problems and settle the dispute by themselves First stage is therefore consultations between the governments concerned. when the case has progressed to other stages, consultation and mediation are still always possible WTO rulings are automatically adopted unless there is a consensus to reject a ruling Dr VK PDPU 20

21. UNDERSTANDING THE WTO’s SETTLING DISPUTES Dr VK PDPU 21

22. Settling disputes is the responsibility of the Dispute Settlement Body (the General Council in another guise), which consists of all WTO members. The Dispute Settlement Body has the sole authority to establish “panels” of experts to consider the case, and to accept or reject the panels’ findings or the results of an appeal. Panels are like tribunals. But unlike in a normal tribunal, the panellists are usually chosen in consultation with the countries in dispute. Only if the two sides cannot agree does the WTO director-general appoint them. Panels consist of three (possibly five) experts from different countries who examine the evidence and decide who is right and who is wrong. The panel’s report is passed to the Dispute Settlement Body, which can only reject the report by consensus . Panelists serve in their individual capacities. They cannot receive instructions from any government. Dispute Settlement Body monitors the implementation of the rulings and recommendations, and has the power to authorize retaliation when a country does not comply with a ruling . Dr VK PDPU 22

23. Appeals Either side can appeal a panel’s ruling. Sometimes both sides do so. Appeals have to be based on points of law such as legal interpretation — they cannot reexamine existing evidence or examine new issues. Each appeal is heard by three members of a permanent seven-member Appellate Body set up by the Dispute Settlement Body and broadly representing the range of WTO membership. Members of the Appellate Body have four-year terms. They have to be individuals with recognized standing in the field of law and international trade, not affiliated with any government. The appeal can uphold, modify or reverse the panel’s legal findings and conclusions. Appellate Body Reports, once adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), must be accepted by the parties to the dispute. The Appellate Body has its seat in Geneva, Switzerland. The Dispute Settlement Body has to accept or reject the appeals report within 30 days —and rejection is only possible by consensus. The case has been decided: what next? If a country has done something wrong, it should swiftly correct its fault. And if it continues to break an agreement, it should offer compensation or face a suitable response . If complying with the recommendation immediately proves impractical, the member will be given a “reasonable period of time” to do so. If it fails to act within this period, it has to enter into negotiations with the complaining country (or countries) in order to determine mutually-acceptable compensation — for instance, tariff reductions in areas of particular interest to the complaining side. Dr VK PDPU 23

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25. India’s Stance on WTO Reform https://ged-project.de/trade-and-investment/indias-stance-on-wto-reform / Dr VK PDPU 25

26. Recent News US violated international trade rules with tariffs on China, says WTO https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/us-violated-international-trade-rules-with-tariffs-on-china-says-wto-120091600114_1.html Canada largely wins WTO case in lumber dispute with U.S https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-canada-wto-idUSKBN25K1OR Captainless WTO in troubled water with no land in sight https://www.livemint.com/news/world/captainless-wto-in-troubled-water-with-no-land-in-sight-11598843569408.html Trump has been running a tirade against the WTO – accusing it of being unfair to the US. He also threatened to withdraw from the organisation , which was established to set rules for international trade and resolve commercial disputes among the countries. Trump's administration has also been blocking new appointments to the WTO Appellate Body, thus paralyzing the dispute settlement mechanism of the organisation . India, China join other BRICS nations to support WTO https://www.deccanherald.com/national/india-china-join-other-brics-nations-to-support-wto-882626.html Dr VK PDPU 26

27. Dr VK PDPU 27 https://www.orfonline.org/research/a-framework-for-a-reformed-wto-appellate-body/

28. The WTO at 25: A message from the Director-General: https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news20_e/dgra_01jan20_e.htm Dr VK PDPU 28