Caribbean Trade Law and Development

Tag: WTO

  • What COVID-19 trade measures have WTO members notified so far?

    What COVID-19 trade measures have WTO members notified so far?

    Alicia Nicholls

    The World Trade Organization (WTO) has this week called on Members, including those in the Caribbean, to notify trade and trade-related measures they are implementing nationally to fight the spread of COVID-19 and to support their economies during these unprecedented times.

    This is part of the WTO’s efforts to monitor the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on global trade. It is also consistent with the WTO’s role as the guardian of the multilateral trading system by, inter alia, promoting transparency of Members’ trade laws and policies.

    To this end, both this initiative and the Director General’s decision to establish a special taskforce of experts from across the WTO Secretariat to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on trade flows and the overall global economy are welcomed.

    What has been notified so far?

    According to the WTO’s new COVID-19 and world trade page, the following Members have notified trade/trade-related COVID-19 measures thus far: Albania, Brazil, Kyrgyz Republic, Mauritius, Indonesia, Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation.

    As many countries turn inward to fight the outbreak, it is little surprise, though unfortunate, that many of the notified measures are trade-restricting. The majority of measures have been notified as technical barriers to trade (TBTs), but sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures and quantitative restrictions have also been notified. Several of the notifications relate to export bans or licensing arrangements for the export of medical equipment, while others restrict imports of live fish and fish products, mammals and exotic pets from certain affected countries, particularly China where the virus originated.

    WTO Secretariat List of Members’ Trade-related COVID-19 measures

    The WTO Secretariat has also compiled its own list of Members’ trade and trade-related COVID-19 measures based on official and other public sources. The list as at March 26 may be found here.

    In addition to some trade-restrictive measures, the list shows that there have also been some trade-enabling measures implemented, such as reductions or eliminations of customs duties on medical supplies.

    Another example of a trade-enabling measure is Argentina’s suspension of its anti-dumping duty on imports of hypodermic syringes from China and parenteral solutions from Brazil and Mexico.

    The wider perspective

    More broadly, there has been growing concern over bans or restrictions being implemented by some countries on the export of medical supplies, such as pharmaceutical drugs, disinfectants and face masks. An insightful analysis by Global Trade Report (2020) found that “as of 21 March 2020, 46 export curbs on medical supplies have been introduced by 54 governments since the beginning of the year”.

    Let us consider a few examples. The European Union (EU) has temporarily introduced export authorisation requirements for exports of personal protective equipment outside of that bloc. Amidst a surge in global demand, India has announced an export ban on the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine, believed by some to be a possible cure for COVID-19 but this remains scientifically unproven. The United Kingdom (UK) has banned the parallel exporting of certain medicines critically for treating COVID-19 patients in intensive care units.

    Export bans are now being extended to food items, which the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has warned could cause a global food shortage. For instance, in order to ensure enough rice supplies during the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietnam has halted the signing of new rice export contracts until March 28th. Kazakhstan has banned the export of key food items.

    What about the Caribbean?

    Although announced as temporary measures, these developments are particularly disconcerting for import-dependent small States like those in the Caribbean which not only rely on the importation of food products, but depend on the importation of medical supplies needed to combat the spread of the highly contagious virus. These export bans and restrictions will not only restrict the availability of these needed medical supplies, but make sourcing them more expensive, with dire implications for affected importing countries’ ability to save lives.

    How have Caribbean countries responded to the COVID-19 crisis to date? No Caribbean WTO Member has notified any COVID-19 trade-related measures so far. Indeed, Caribbean countries’ policy responses to the crisis have been largely in the form of fiscal stimulus packages and economic and social support for affected workers and businesses, as opposed to any export-related measures.

    Nonetheless, to assist the WTO Secretariat in its monitoring of Members’ trade/trade-related COVID-19 policy responses and to comply with our general notification obligations under the various WTO Agreements, it is advisable that our governments notify any COVID-19 trade/trade-related measures or economic support measures which may have a possible trade impact.

    Caribbean countries should also advocate for greater international cooperation to ensure that they and other poorer countries are able to access needed medical supplies and foods.

    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.

  • 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.