Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), also referred to as ‘fast track’ authority, expired under US law at the beginning of July 2007. With this expiry went the authority that Congress grants the President to enter into certain trade agreements, and the authority for Congress to consider the agreements’ implementing legislation under expedited procedures. Notably under TPA Congress either accepts or rejects …
G8 Summit Weak on Trade
Realistically the business of breaking the WTO’s negotiating inertia is likely to be conducted at the politically orientated level, where compromises can be sanctioned from the highest levels, than at the current technical negotiation level. On the highest political front the G8 countries, representing the world’s richest, met in Heiligendamm, Germany in the second week of June 2007. The G8 …
WTO ‘Corn’ Dispute Revitalized
The Canadian Minister of International Trade (David Emerson) and the Minister of Agriculture, Agri-Food & the Canadian Wheat Board (Chuck Strahl), announced last week on Friday (8 June 2007) that Canada will now request that a WTO dispute settlement panel be established on the issue of US agricultural subsidies. After indicating their intention last month to hold off on the …
Doha Delusions?
Breaking the inertia of the Doha Round of WTO trade talks is proving to be particularly difficult. The negotiation process is currently being tackled from two sides, one technical and one political. On a technical level the Chairs of the negotiating groups have been encouraged to spur the numbers issues (modalities) by issuing new reference papers under their own responsibility. …
WTO Maize Case Evaporates
In disappointing news this week Canadian Trade Minister David Emerson has decided not to pursue the WTO Corn dispute into a substantive action. The Government of Canada initiated a trade dispute in the WTO against United States maize subsidies on 8 January 2007. The Canadian complaint contends that US$9 billion provided to US maize farmers each year is depressing the …
Africans Proactive on International Food Standards
At last months meeting of the WTO’s sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) committee, Egypt made some rather insightful analysis of the application of special and differential treatment, or the lack thereof, under the SPS Agreement. The SPS Agreement (Article 10.1) seemingly obliges Members to attend to special and differential treatment for developing country members. The SPS Agreement text uses mandatory language …
WTO Case a Lesson for SA
China is squarely in the sights of North America as the USA and Mexico fire the first volleys against China’s contentious subsidy regimes in the WTO. Hot on the heels of the US, Mexico requested consultations with China (the People’s Republic of China ‘the PRC’) under the WTO’s Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, a precursory process to …
A Chinese Subsidy Puzzle to be Unpacked
Two large developing countries are setting up to tackle each other in the WTO. It was announced on 28 February 2007 that the government of Mexico has requested consultations with China (the People’s Republic of China ‘the PRC’) under the WTO’s Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, a precursory process to an action in the WTO trade court. …
NAFTA Allies Close Ranks on China
The recent announcement by Mexico that it plans to challenge certain Chinese subsidies (read the Chinese subsidies story here) is a strong show of support for its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) neighbour the United States. NAFTA is a free trade agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico implemented in 1994.The US brought a similar request for WTO consultations …
South Africa ‘in’ on SADC EPA
Confirming the European Union stance put forward by the Commission in December 2006, the EU Council of Ministers this week adopted a decision to officially include South Africa in the SADC EPA negotiation configuration. South Africa was previously an observer of the process due to its pre-existing Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) with Europe. While this is a positive …