Showing posts with label WTO 1995. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WTO 1995. Show all posts
Monday, April 4, 2011
Canada threatening WTO challenge over EU's proposed restrictions/rankings on product from Cdn oil sands
http://ht.ly/4sQSz BRUSSELS — The Canadian government has stepped up lobbying in Europe for its oil sands industry, repeating its threats of trade conflict, a leaked letter shows. The letter dated March 18 to Europe’s commissioners for climate, trade and energy follows Canada’s denial it threatened to scrap a free trade deal unless the European Union alters planned environmental laws. "Given the desire for freer trade between us, it is important that our individual efforts to address climate change do not lead to the creation of unnecessary barriers," Canadian trade official Mark Richardson said in a document sent with the letter. "The Government of Canada believes this approach raises the prospect of unjustified discrimination and is not supported by the science." The dispute centres around EU plans to make fuel suppliers reduce the carbon footprint of fuels by 6% over the next decade. The EU is now fine-tuning a ranking of fuels to help suppliers identify the most carbon-intensive imports.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
WTO treatment of a Carbon Tax
Peter Gallagher
In which I try briefly to describe the practical impact of WTO rules on the administration of a compensated carbon tax that is not levied on exports.
The huge volumes of recent commentary on the interaction of WTO rules and carbon emission taxes or administered markets ("emission trading schemes", ETS) contain a bewildering diversity of analysis. The matter is so contentious that the 2010 Copenhagen Accord of the UN Kyoto Protocol omitted any mention of trade measures that might be used to shore up domestic tax/ETS schemes if some large emitters (China, India, Japan) declined to make proportionate (or any) emission cuts.
In the present state of WTO jurisprudence the only thing we can say for sure is that any laws to levy a carbon tax on imports or to remit a domestic carbon tax on exports are likely to provoke nasty trade disputes; which is why the then-EC-Trade-Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, advised against putting any such border taxes on imports or tax-remissions on exports in place when the EU adopted its own ETS in 2005.
In which I try briefly to describe the practical impact of WTO rules on the administration of a compensated carbon tax that is not levied on exports.
The huge volumes of recent commentary on the interaction of WTO rules and carbon emission taxes or administered markets ("emission trading schemes", ETS) contain a bewildering diversity of analysis. The matter is so contentious that the 2010 Copenhagen Accord of the UN Kyoto Protocol omitted any mention of trade measures that might be used to shore up domestic tax/ETS schemes if some large emitters (China, India, Japan) declined to make proportionate (or any) emission cuts.
In the present state of WTO jurisprudence the only thing we can say for sure is that any laws to levy a carbon tax on imports or to remit a domestic carbon tax on exports are likely to provoke nasty trade disputes; which is why the then-EC-Trade-Commissioner, Peter Mandelson, advised against putting any such border taxes on imports or tax-remissions on exports in place when the EU adopted its own ETS in 2005.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Aerospace & Defence - WTO rules Boeing had illegal subsidies
FT.com / Companies / Aerospace & Defence - WTO rules Boeing had illegal subsidies
WTO rules Boeing had illegal subsidies
By Peggy Hollinger in Paris, Nikki Tait in Brussels, Hal Weitzman in Chicago and Robin Harding in Washington
Published: January 31 2011 22:23 | Last updated: January 31 2011 22:23
Boeing’s flagship 787 Dreamliner has benefited from illegal US government subsidies that have distorted market competition, according to the World Trade Organisation.
The ruling, which will not be published for several weeks, marks a key moment in a bitter six-year trade dispute that has pitched the European Union against the US over the funding of their respective aircraft makers.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Dreamliner delays to hit Boeing profits - Jan-26.Southwest warns on switch to Airbus - Jan-20.Boeing pushes back Dreamliner delivery - Jan-18.Airbus edges ahead of Boeing in orders - Jan-17..In June, the WTO ruled that Airbus, the Franco-German aircraft maker, had also benefited from illegal aid in the form of repayable loans linked to export sales in the development of its A380 superjumbo.
The two rulings will now step up the pressure on politicians from both sides to negotiate a settlement and find a new agreement on the acceptable form for state aid.
The current row, the largest trade dispute ever brought before the WTO, was sparked when the US government abandoned a previous accord hammered out in 1992.
But the arrival of new, aggressive competitors, such as Brazil and China, is making the need for common rules on the financing of new aircraft more pressing, say industry executives.
The European Commission welcomed the findings, which will remain confidential until formally published in the next few weeks. A spokesman for EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht said it was a “solid report” that “sheds further light on the negative consequences for the EU industry of these US subsidies and provides a timely element of balance in this long-running dispute”.
Airbus claimed that the ruling found at least $5bn in US government aid illegal – much of which was channelled through the Department of Defense and the Nasa space agency.
In addition, a further $2bn in state and local subsidies were deemed unfair, the group said. The aircraft maker said the report would show that Boeing could not have launched its rival to Airbus’s A380, the 787 Dreamliner, without this illegal aid, which it claimed had cost it $45bn in lost sales.
Boeing said the report would show that the WTO had rejected almost all of Europe’s claims against the US, including the vast majority of its R&D claims. “Nothing in today’s reports even begins to compare to the $20bn in illegal subsidies that the WTO found last June that Airbus/EADS has received,” it said.
The US government also rejected the European claim of victory. Nefeterius McPherson, spokesman for Ron Kirk, the US trade representative, said the US was “confident that the WTO will confirm the US view that European subsidies to Airbus dwarf any subsidies that the US provided to Boeing.”
Both sides are appealing against the WTO’s decision last year on European aid to Airbus. They are also expected to appeal against the latest decision on US aid to Boeing. Each side will have 60 days to appeal.
.Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share
WTO rules Boeing had illegal subsidies
By Peggy Hollinger in Paris, Nikki Tait in Brussels, Hal Weitzman in Chicago and Robin Harding in Washington
Published: January 31 2011 22:23 | Last updated: January 31 2011 22:23
Boeing’s flagship 787 Dreamliner has benefited from illegal US government subsidies that have distorted market competition, according to the World Trade Organisation.
The ruling, which will not be published for several weeks, marks a key moment in a bitter six-year trade dispute that has pitched the European Union against the US over the funding of their respective aircraft makers.
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Dreamliner delays to hit Boeing profits - Jan-26.Southwest warns on switch to Airbus - Jan-20.Boeing pushes back Dreamliner delivery - Jan-18.Airbus edges ahead of Boeing in orders - Jan-17..In June, the WTO ruled that Airbus, the Franco-German aircraft maker, had also benefited from illegal aid in the form of repayable loans linked to export sales in the development of its A380 superjumbo.
The two rulings will now step up the pressure on politicians from both sides to negotiate a settlement and find a new agreement on the acceptable form for state aid.
The current row, the largest trade dispute ever brought before the WTO, was sparked when the US government abandoned a previous accord hammered out in 1992.
But the arrival of new, aggressive competitors, such as Brazil and China, is making the need for common rules on the financing of new aircraft more pressing, say industry executives.
The European Commission welcomed the findings, which will remain confidential until formally published in the next few weeks. A spokesman for EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht said it was a “solid report” that “sheds further light on the negative consequences for the EU industry of these US subsidies and provides a timely element of balance in this long-running dispute”.
Airbus claimed that the ruling found at least $5bn in US government aid illegal – much of which was channelled through the Department of Defense and the Nasa space agency.
In addition, a further $2bn in state and local subsidies were deemed unfair, the group said. The aircraft maker said the report would show that Boeing could not have launched its rival to Airbus’s A380, the 787 Dreamliner, without this illegal aid, which it claimed had cost it $45bn in lost sales.
Boeing said the report would show that the WTO had rejected almost all of Europe’s claims against the US, including the vast majority of its R&D claims. “Nothing in today’s reports even begins to compare to the $20bn in illegal subsidies that the WTO found last June that Airbus/EADS has received,” it said.
The US government also rejected the European claim of victory. Nefeterius McPherson, spokesman for Ron Kirk, the US trade representative, said the US was “confident that the WTO will confirm the US view that European subsidies to Airbus dwarf any subsidies that the US provided to Boeing.”
Both sides are appealing against the WTO’s decision last year on European aid to Airbus. They are also expected to appeal against the latest decision on US aid to Boeing. Each side will have 60 days to appeal.
.Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share
Monday, January 24, 2011
CISDL-ILA Continuing Legal Education Course in International Law
CISDL-ILA Continuing Legal Education Course in International Law
Welcome to the course page for the following module: Emerging Issues in Trade & Investment Law: Briefing for Canadian Lawyers
This module lasts approximately 5 hours, and allows for 5 CLE credits with the Quebec Bar Association.
In this section, the instructors will present learning modules related to economic growth and prosperity; global, regional and bilateral trade law; international investment agreements; cross-border transactions; and international financial rules and the credit crisis.
Please click on the links below in order to access the course content (video and power point)
Once you have finished the course, please email preynaud@cisdl.org with cc to info@cisdl.org in order to receive your certificate of completion
Welcome to the course page for the following module: Emerging Issues in Trade & Investment Law: Briefing for Canadian Lawyers
This module lasts approximately 5 hours, and allows for 5 CLE credits with the Quebec Bar Association.
In this section, the instructors will present learning modules related to economic growth and prosperity; global, regional and bilateral trade law; international investment agreements; cross-border transactions; and international financial rules and the credit crisis.
Please click on the links below in order to access the course content (video and power point)
Once you have finished the course, please email preynaud@cisdl.org with cc to info@cisdl.org in order to receive your certificate of completion
Japan Challenges Canadian Renewable Energy Incentives at WTO
http://ictsd.org/i/news/biores/99472/
Japan launched dispute settlement proceedings against Canada at the World Trade Organization on 13 September by saying that the province of Ontario’s green energy plan unfairly pressures its producers of clean power to buy hardware from local manufacturers.
Specifically, Japan is challenging Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff Program (FIT), which enables the province to subsidise electricity operators that use renewable energy produced using stringent local content requirements. The “made-in-Ontario” requirement demands that up to 60 percent of all green energy project inputs be manufactured in the province as it strives to create local jobs.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, launched an incentive program for renewable energy producers last October, aiming to create jobs and eliminate coal-fired power generators. The program has so far been very successful in drawing manufacturers to set up shop in Ontario. The biggest deal under the province’s green power plan involved South Korean giant Samsung Group. But many other equipment makers - based
Japan launched dispute settlement proceedings against Canada at the World Trade Organization on 13 September by saying that the province of Ontario’s green energy plan unfairly pressures its producers of clean power to buy hardware from local manufacturers.
Specifically, Japan is challenging Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff Program (FIT), which enables the province to subsidise electricity operators that use renewable energy produced using stringent local content requirements. The “made-in-Ontario” requirement demands that up to 60 percent of all green energy project inputs be manufactured in the province as it strives to create local jobs.
Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, launched an incentive program for renewable energy producers last October, aiming to create jobs and eliminate coal-fired power generators. The program has so far been very successful in drawing manufacturers to set up shop in Ontario. The biggest deal under the province’s green power plan involved South Korean giant Samsung Group. But many other equipment makers - based
Friday, January 14, 2011
WTO | Understanding the WTO - A unique contribution
WTO | Understanding the WTO - A unique contribution
Click the + to open an item.
Understanding the WTO
Basics
Agreements
Settling disputes
A unique contribution
The panel process
Case study
Cross-cutting and new issues
The Doha agenda
Developing countries
The organization
Abbreviations
More introductory information
> The WTO in Brief
> 10 benefits
> 10 misunderstandings
Principles: equitable, fast, effective, mutually acceptable back to top
Disputes
Click the + to open an item.
Understanding the WTO
Basics
Agreements
Settling disputes
A unique contribution
The panel process
Case study
Cross-cutting and new issues
The Doha agenda
Developing countries
The organization
Abbreviations
More introductory information
> The WTO in Brief
> 10 benefits
> 10 misunderstandings
Principles: equitable, fast, effective, mutually acceptable back to top
Disputes
Bretton Woods , New Hampshire 1944-1959
The Bretton Woods Conference took place in July 1944, but did not become operative until 1959, when all the European currencies became convertible. Under this system, the IMF and the IBRD were established. The IMF was developed as a permanent international body. The summary of agreements states, "The nations should consult and agree on international monetary changes which affect each other. They should outlaw practices which are agreed to be harmful to world prosperity, and they should assist each other to overcome short-term exchange difficulties." The IBRD was created to speed up post-war reconstruction, to aid political stability, and to foster peace. This was to be fulfilled through the establishment of programs for reconstruction and development.
The main terms of this agreement were:
1.Formation of the IMF and the IBRD (presently part of the World Bank).
2.Adjustably pegged foreign exchange market rate system: The exchange rates were fixed, with the provision of changing them if necessary.
3.Currencies were required to be convertible for trade related and other current account transactions. The governments, however, had the power to regulate ostentatious capital flows.
4.As it was possible that exchange rates thus established might not be favourable to a country's balance of payments position, the governments had the power to revise them by up to 10%.
5.All member countries were required to subscribe to the IMF's capital.
[edit] Encouraging open marketsThe seminal idea behind the Bretton Woods Conference was the notion of open markets. In Henry Morgenthau's farewell remarks at the conference, he stated that the establishment of the IMF and the World Bank marked the end of economic nationalism. This meant countries would maintain their national interest, but trade blocks and economic spheres of influence would no longer be their means. The second idea behind the Bretton Woods Conference was joint management of the Western political-economic order. Meaning that the foremost industrial democratic nations must lower barriers to trade and the movement of capital, in addition to their responsibility to govern the system.
[edit] The Bank for International Settlements controversyIn the last stages of the Second World War, in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, the Bank for International Settlements became the crux of a fight that broke out when the Norwegian delegation put forth evidence that the BIS was guilty of war crimes and put forth a motion to dissolve the bank; the Americans, specifically President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Henry Morgenthau, supported this motion. This resulted in a fight between, on one side, several European nations, the American and the Norwegian delegation, led by Henry Morgenthau and Harry Dexter White; and on the other side, the British delegation, headed by John Maynard Keynes and Chase Bank representative Dean Acheson, who tried to veto the dissolution of the bank.
The problem was that the BIS, formed in 1930, had as the main proponents of its establishment the then Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman, and his colleague Hjalmar Schacht, later Adolf Hitler's finance minister. The Bank was as far as known, originally primarily intended to facilitate money transfers arising from settling an obligation from the peace treaty after WWI. After World
The main terms of this agreement were:
1.Formation of the IMF and the IBRD (presently part of the World Bank).
2.Adjustably pegged foreign exchange market rate system: The exchange rates were fixed, with the provision of changing them if necessary.
3.Currencies were required to be convertible for trade related and other current account transactions. The governments, however, had the power to regulate ostentatious capital flows.
4.As it was possible that exchange rates thus established might not be favourable to a country's balance of payments position, the governments had the power to revise them by up to 10%.
5.All member countries were required to subscribe to the IMF's capital.
[edit] Encouraging open marketsThe seminal idea behind the Bretton Woods Conference was the notion of open markets. In Henry Morgenthau's farewell remarks at the conference, he stated that the establishment of the IMF and the World Bank marked the end of economic nationalism. This meant countries would maintain their national interest, but trade blocks and economic spheres of influence would no longer be their means. The second idea behind the Bretton Woods Conference was joint management of the Western political-economic order. Meaning that the foremost industrial democratic nations must lower barriers to trade and the movement of capital, in addition to their responsibility to govern the system.
[edit] The Bank for International Settlements controversyIn the last stages of the Second World War, in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, the Bank for International Settlements became the crux of a fight that broke out when the Norwegian delegation put forth evidence that the BIS was guilty of war crimes and put forth a motion to dissolve the bank; the Americans, specifically President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Henry Morgenthau, supported this motion. This resulted in a fight between, on one side, several European nations, the American and the Norwegian delegation, led by Henry Morgenthau and Harry Dexter White; and on the other side, the British delegation, headed by John Maynard Keynes and Chase Bank representative Dean Acheson, who tried to veto the dissolution of the bank.
The problem was that the BIS, formed in 1930, had as the main proponents of its establishment the then Governor of the Bank of England, Montagu Norman, and his colleague Hjalmar Schacht, later Adolf Hitler's finance minister. The Bank was as far as known, originally primarily intended to facilitate money transfers arising from settling an obligation from the peace treaty after WWI. After World
Monday, January 10, 2011
Serbia to Sign Trade Agreement With EU as Part of WTO Entry - Bloomberg
Serbia to Sign Trade Agreement With EU as Part of WTO Entry - Bloomberg
Serbia and the European Union will sign a trade agreement tomorrow, as part of the Balkan nation’s World Trade Organization entry.
Serbia wants to join the WTO by the end of the year, according to a statement today from Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic, who will sign the accord with EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht.
To gain WTO entry, Serbia needs to remove or lower trade barriers with other members of the organization that request it. The country’s trade relations with the EU were defined in previous agreement’s with the bloc as the Balkan nation works toward membership.
Serbia applied for WTO membership in 2005. The country has completed all multilateral talks and signed bilateral accords with Japan, Norway, Honduras and South Korea. After the EU, it needs to complete WTO-related talks with the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Switzerland and Ukraine. The agreement with Canada may be signed this month, Dinkic said.
To contact the reporter on this story: {Misha Savic} in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at
Serbia and the European Union will sign a trade agreement tomorrow, as part of the Balkan nation’s World Trade Organization entry.
Serbia wants to join the WTO by the end of the year, according to a statement today from Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic, who will sign the accord with EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht.
To gain WTO entry, Serbia needs to remove or lower trade barriers with other members of the organization that request it. The country’s trade relations with the EU were defined in previous agreement’s with the bloc as the Balkan nation works toward membership.
Serbia applied for WTO membership in 2005. The country has completed all multilateral talks and signed bilateral accords with Japan, Norway, Honduras and South Korea. After the EU, it needs to complete WTO-related talks with the U.S., Brazil, Canada, Switzerland and Ukraine. The agreement with Canada may be signed this month, Dinkic said.
To contact the reporter on this story: {Misha Savic} in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James M. Gomez at
Sunday, January 2, 2011
WTO Airbus Dispute
International Economic Law and Policy Blog: Report on the Second Oral Hearing in the WTO Airbus Dispute
Report on the Second Oral Hearing in the WTO Airbus Dispute
Here's more reporting on the WTO Appellate Body oral hearings in the Airbus dispute, by Malorie Schaus (malorie.schaus [at] graduateinstitute.ch) and Tobiasz Kaczor (tobiasz.kaczor [at] gmail.com) of the Graduate Institute in Geneva. This is their report of the participants' and third participants' oral statements and the second oral hearing: http://www.worldtradelaw.net/abhearings/WTO-Airbus-Case-Second-Hearing.pdf Thanks to both of them for all their hard work!
Posted by Simon Lester on January 02, 2011 at 08:21 AM in Airbus - Boeing Dispute | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c90a753ef0147e1348c6f970b
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Report on the Second Oral Hearing in the WTO Airbus Dispute:
Report on the Second Oral Hearing in the WTO Airbus Dispute
Here's more reporting on the WTO Appellate Body oral hearings in the Airbus dispute, by Malorie Schaus (malorie.schaus [at] graduateinstitute.ch) and Tobiasz Kaczor (tobiasz.kaczor [at] gmail.com) of the Graduate Institute in Geneva. This is their report of the participants' and third participants' oral statements and the second oral hearing: http://www.worldtradelaw.net/abhearings/WTO-Airbus-Case-Second-Hearing.pdf Thanks to both of them for all their hard work!
Posted by Simon Lester on January 02, 2011 at 08:21 AM in Airbus - Boeing Dispute | Permalink
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d8341c90a753ef0147e1348c6f970b
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Report on the Second Oral Hearing in the WTO Airbus Dispute:
Saturday, January 1, 2011
GATT formed 1949 was replaced by WTO in 1995
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (typically abbreviated GATT) was negotiated during the UN Conference on Trade and Employment and was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization (ITO). GATT was formed in 1949 and lasted until 1993, when it was replaced by the World Trade Organization in 1995. The original GATT text (GATT 1947) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)