Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Tag: WTO

  • Several WTO Members agree on interim appeal arrangement for dispute settlement

    Several WTO Members agree on interim appeal arrangement for dispute settlement

    Alicia Nicholls

    On March 27, 2020, several Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed on a stop gap measure to ensure the continuation of a two-step system for the peaceful and orderly settlement of trade disputes amongst them at the WTO.

    Readers would recall that in December 2019 the WTO Appellate Body lost the quorum needed for hearing new appeals from panel reports and is no longer functioning. It is the sad culmination of the US’ blockage of appointments/re-appointments to the normally seven-member body in protest over alleged judicial overreach.

    What’s the Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement?

    The new temporary arrangement agreed on today, known as the Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), is based on Article 25 of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Understanding. The MPIA will be based on the substantive and procedural aspects of the Appellate Body. Any Member may join the MPIA upon notification of endorsement of the communication to the Dispute Settlement Body. The arrangement will be in place as long as the Appellate Body remains defunct.

    This interim appeal initiative, which was spearheaded by the EU, is further to a statement which was made on January 4, 2020 at Davos in which the EU and then sixteen other WTO Members agreed to work on such an arrangement.

    Who’s already in?

    In addition to the EU, the fifteen other WTO Members which have already signed on are: Australia; Brazil; Canada; China; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; Singapore; Switzerland; and Uruguay. No Caribbean country has signed on as yet.

    For further information

    The Ministerial Statement may be accessed here.

    The full text of the Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement may be read here.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is an international trade and development consultant. You can also read more of her commentaries at www.caribbeantradelaw.com and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

    DISCLAIMER: All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may be affiliated from time to time.

  • WTO: Curacao to begin accession process as separate customs territory

    WTO: Curacao to begin accession process as separate customs territory

    Image by Patrice Audet from Pixabay.

    Alicia Nicholls

    World Trade Organization (WTO) Members have agreed to establish a working party for the accession of the Dutch Caribbean dependency of Curacao to the 164-member organization. This decision was made at the latest meeting of the WTO’s General Council – the WTO’s highest decision-making body in Geneva – when it met on March 3-4, 2020.

    Under the WTO Agreement, any State or separate customs territory “possessing full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in this Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements” may accede to the WTO on terms to be agreed between it and the WTO.

    Constitutionally, Curacao is a constituent country and separate customs territory within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and is part of the original membership of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and later the WTO. The Kingdom of the Netherlands has supported Curacao’s bid for WTO membership as a separate customs union and placed Curacao’s request on the General Council’s agenda.

    Curacao’s application for accession, which was made in October 2019, will make it among several accessions to the WTO currently on-going. According to the WTO Accessions 2019 Annual Report by the Director-General which was one of the meeting agenda items, “at the end of the year, out of the 22 ongoing accessions, 14 were considered as active, continuing their engagement with Members and/or the Secretariat”.

    With regard to The Bahamas, the only independent Caribbean country which is not yet a WTO Member, the Accessions Report 2019 noted that “the accession Working Party of The Bahamas met once and was very active until Hurricane Dorian made landfall in September, becoming the worst natural disaster in the country’s history”. The Bahamas’ accession to the WTO remains a point of contention in the country as there remains strong opposition against joining the multilateral trading body.

    Other items were discussed at the meeting which would be of interest to the Caribbean. Two Caribbean WTO representatives, Mr. Stephen Fevrier of the Permanent Mission of the Organisation of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to Geneva and H.E. Mr. Chad Blackman, Ambassador of Barbados to Geneva are among the new chairpersons for WTO bodies.

    The US has resubmitted documents – a working paper and a draft General Council decision – in support of its bid to bring out changes to the way the WTO allows eligibility for special and differential treatment. The US delegation also submitted a draft General Council decision on “The Importance of Market-oriented conditions to the World Trading System”.

    The documents from the General Council Meeting may be accessed via the WTO’s documents portal.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is an international trade and development consultant with a keen interest in sustainable development, international law and trade. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

    DISCLAIMER: All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may be affiliated from time to time.

  • WTO Reform High on US President’s Trade Policy Agenda for 2020

    WTO Reform High on US President’s Trade Policy Agenda for 2020

    Alicia Nicholls

    Reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) remains a high priority on United States (US) President Donald Trump’s ‘America-First’ Trade Agenda. This was confirmed in the recently released 2020 Trade Policy Agenda and 2019 Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

    Among the priorities listed for the President’s 2020 trade agenda is that the Administration “will push for a WTO that reflects current economic realities and strengthens free-market economies”. Readers would recall, for example, that last year the US stepped up its campaign advocating the introduction of criteria-based eligibility requirements, as opposed to the current and longstanding practice of self-selection as a developing country. In early February of this year, the US revised its list of developing and least-developed countries for purposes of US countervailing duties law.

    In December last year, the WTO’s Appellate Body became defunct following some two years of US blocking of appointments and reappointments to the once seven-member body over allegations of judicial overreach by the WTO’s highest arbiter of trade disputes. Earlier this month, the USTR released a report reiterating some of its criticisms of the Appellate Body’s operation.

    Consistent with the Administration’s stance, this present report has argued that “a number of features at the WTO reflect out-of-date assumptions and do not reflect current realities”.

    So what are the US priorities for WTO reform this year? The report notes that in addition to addressing the Appellate Body, the US will seek a new fisheries agreement, a digital commerce agreement, enforcing notifications obligations, and seeking reform of “special and differential treatment” for “developing” countries. It will also advocate for “other changes at the WTO that will have the WTO working for its Members.”

    The report further states that “the United States will also explore a broader reset at the WTO”. It notes, for example, that “the WTO currently locks-in outdated tariff determinations that no longer reflect deliberate policy choices and economic realities. ” As a result, it argues, “countries that have large economies that have developed significantly over the past two decades continue to maintain very high bound tariff rates, far in excess of the rates applied by the United States or to which the United States is bound”. It will also seek more plurilateral agreements.

    Other trade policy priorities outlined in the 300-plus page document are: pursuing trade agreements that benefit all Americans and enforcing US trade agreements and trade laws vigorously.

    Bearing in mind that this is a presidential election year in the US, it is likely the Trump Administration will use its ‘progress’ on WTO reform and other ‘wins’ like the recently updated NAFTA (renamed to the USMCA) and the Phase One trade deal with China as examples of a trade policy that puts Americans first in its bid to support the President’s re-election. This will definitely be a space to closely watch in coming months.

    The full USTR report may be accessed here.

    Alicia Nicholls, B.Sc., M.Sc., LL.B., is an international trade and development consultant with a keen interest in sustainable development, international law and trade. You can also read more of her commentaries and follow her on Twitter @LicyLaw.

    DISCLAIMER: All views expressed herein are her personal views and do not necessarily reflect the views of any institution or entity with which she may be affiliated from time to time.

  • Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – February 23-29, 2020

    Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest – February 23-29, 2020

    Welcome to the Caribbean Trade & Development News Digest for the week of February 23-29, 2020! We are happy to bring you the major trade and development headlines and analysis from across the Caribbean Region and the world from the past week.

    THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS

    Fears about the global spread of COVID -19 (the official name for novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan province, China and has started to spread to other countries) unsettled stock markets this week. Read more here.

    The USTR has released its 2020 Trade Policy Agenda and 2019 Annual Report. The full report may be accessed here.

    Canada has released its own impact assessment of the CUSMA (what the USMCA is referred to in Canada).

    A new Caribbean Chamber of Commerce will be launched to promote trade and investment between the wider Caribbean and the United Kingdom/Europe. On March 1, CARICOM will host a special meeting in Barbados on COVID-19.

    REGIONAL NEWS

    Surinamese Minister wants trade barriers lifted

    Barbados Today: A member of the Surinamese government who is in Barbados on an official visit is calling for the non-tariff barriers which continue to hinder intra-regional trade to be removed. Read more

    Caribbean Chamber of Commerce Set to Launch in Europe

    Caribbean Business: The newly founded Caribbean Chamber of Commerce in Europe (CCCE) said Thursday it will be opening its doors soon to offer Caribbean-based companies an “alternative gateway to the continent” as Britain exits the European Union. Read more

    Hopeful trade talks will resume

    Barbados Advocate: IT is hoped that once Canada and CARICOM can agree on an agenda to strengthen their ties, a place will be found for the resumption of their negotiations on an economic co-operation and development agreement. Read more

    Jamaica on Financial Action Task Force grey list

    Jamaica Observer: Jamaica and Barbados are the only two countries from the Caribbean that have been added to the list, which also includes Albania, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Uganda. This means these countries are subject to increased monitoring FATF said. Read more

    Tourism Trinidad: Coronavirus could impact tourism

    Newsday: The Caribbean tourism industry can potentially benefit from the coronavirus outbreak as US travellers – the primary source of tourists into TT – could consider shifting travel plans to the region from Asia and Europe, Tourism Trinidad acting CEO Heidi Alert said. Read more

    Green urges acceleration in implementation of trade facilitation processes

    Jamaica Observer: Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Floyd Green, is urging stakeholders in the country’s trade facilitation programme to speed up its implementation. Read more

    Single Window To Be Piloted At Trade Board

    Jamaica Information Service: The Jamaica Single Window for Trade (JSWIFT) is to be piloted at the Trade Board Limited starting March 2020. Read more

    PIOJ Weighs Potential Impact Of COVID-19 On Economy

    Jamaica Gleaner: The impact of the ongoing outbreak of the coronavirus COVID-19, from an economic perspective, would primarily be transmitted through two main mechanisms, namely trade and financial flows, according to an assessment by the Planning Institute of Jamaica, PIOJ. Read more

    Commercial Success Essential To Diplomatic Missions – Ahmad

    Jamaica Gleaner: Describing commercial success as essential to present-day diplomatic missions, British High Commissioner Asif Ahmad is underscoring the United Kingdom’s (UK) commitment to improving the capability and capacity of Jamaican exporters to sell more to the UK. Read more

    Exports start off 2020 with a huge decline, imports barely affected

    Breaking Belize News: Веlіzе’ѕ ехроrt rеvеnuе ѕtаrtеd оff thе уеаr 2020 wіth а mајоr dесlіnе whіlе іmроrtѕ ѕаw аn аlmоѕt іnѕіgnіfісаnt rеduсtіоn, ассоrdіng tо thе lаtеѕt dаtа rеlеаѕеd tоdау bу thе Ѕtаtіѕtісаl Іnѕtіtutе оf Веlіzе (ЅІВ). Read more

    Guyana celebrates 1st oil shipment after major discovery

    Associated Press: Guyana’s government on Thursday prepared to sell its first barrels of oil after the discovery of large quantities of oil and gas near the South American country’s coast nearly five years ago. Read more

    A current assessment of Guyana’s coconut industry

    Stabroek: With the advent of oil, talk of diversifying our economy has intensified with particular emphasis on its agricultural base. Coconuts in particular have received much attention with awareness intensified through the 2016 Festival. Read more

    The Caribbean Just Set an All-Time Record for Visitor Arrivals

    Caribjournal: The Caribbean region set an all-time record for visitor arrivals in 2019, according to a new report from the Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization. Read more

    INTERNATIONAL NEWS

    Implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement: Not a sprint but a marathon

    UNCTAD: Three years have elapsed since the entry into force of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The TFA aims at boosting the speed and efficiency of cross-border trade procedures while reducing cost. Read more

    UN study projects $32 billion loss for UK post no-deal Brexit

    UN: The United Kingdom (UK) risks losing up to 14 per cent of its exports to the European Union (EU) in a so-called “no-deal” Brexit, according to a new study by the UN Conference on Trade, Investment and Development (UNCTAD). Read more

    Namibia first African country to export red meat to hungry U.S. market

    Al Jazeera: Namibia became the first African country to export red meat to the United States after it sent 25 tonnes of beef to Philadelphia, following two decades of haggling over safety regulations and logistics. Read more

    Trade war and coronavirus show retail supply chains are too dependent on China, ex-Macy’s CEO says

    CNBC: The trade war and coronavirus outbreak helped demonstrate that retail supply chains have become too reliant on China, former CEO Terry Lundgren told CNBC on Wednesday. Read more

    What are the sticking points in a post-Brexit UK-EU trade deal? 

    Euronews: Post-Brexit negotiations to sort out the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union get underway in early March. Read more

    UK Statement to the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee

    Gov.uk: The UK’s Ambassador to the WTO in Geneva, Julian Braithwaite, delivered a statement to the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade Committee Meeting on 26 February 2020. Read more

    UK warns it could walk away from EU trade talks

    Al Jazeera: UK issues threat before formal talks set to begin in days, once again raising the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. Read more

    Coronavirus: Africa braces for the economic impact of China slump

    The Africa Report: The novel coronavirus Covid-19 is a black swan event: highly unlikely, and with potent potential consequences. Still, its swift initial containment to some extent demonstrates China’s capacity for fit-for-purpose strategic solutions in times of crisis. Read more

    US, ASEAN Postpone March Summit Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

    VoA: The United States said Friday that Washington was postponing a special summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as countries around the globe continued to fight the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Read more

    With Lacalle Pou, Mercosur moves further to the right

    BNAmericas: This weekend marks a rapprochement between the governments of Brazil and Uruguay a change of emphasis inside the Mercosur trade bloc in political and economic terms. Read more

    STRAIGHT FROM THE WTO

    NEW ON THE CTLD BLOG

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