Items proposed for consideration at the next meeting of Dispute Settlement Body

The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 25 November 2024, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them. The meeting notice is circulated in the form of a document officially called an “airgram”.

Fisheries subsidies chair seeks views on year-end target for “second wave” agreement

The chair of the fisheries subsidies negotiations, Ambassador Einar Gunnarsson of Iceland, on 19 November convened heads of delegations to seek WTO members’ views on whether and how negotiations on additional provisions to discipline subsidies contributing to overcapacity and overfishing could be concluded at the General Council meeting next month. The chair noted members’ various positions and said he will swiftly revert to members after reflecting further on the matter.

Facilitator urges members to be practical, flexible as dispute reform talks intensify

The facilitator for the negotiations on dispute settlement reform, Ambassador Usha Dwarka-Canabady of Mauritius, urged WTO members on 21 November to be practical and flexible as talks intensify on securing a fully functional dispute settlement system accessible to all. She spoke at a Heads of Delegation (HODs) meeting at WTO headquarters in Geneva.

Panel established to review Colombia’s compliance with frozen fries ruling

The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) agreed at its meeting on 25 November to a request from the European Union for the establishment of a panel to review Colombia’s compliance with an earlier panel ruling finding fault with Colombia’s anti-dumping duties on frozen fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands. The DSB also considered a request from Indonesia for the establishment of a panel to review EU anti-dumping duties on fatty acids imported from Indonesia.

#EV 🚎

🥃 🇪🇺vs🇨🇳 #DS631 #AD
EU initiates dispute complaint against China regarding Chinese duties on brandy

The European Union has requested WTO dispute consultations with China regarding China’s imposition of provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of brandy originating in the EU. The request was circulated to WTO members on 29 November.

🇨🇷vs🇵🇦 #DS599
WTO issues panel report regarding agricultural import measures in Panama

On 5 December, the WTO circulated the panel report in the case brought by Costa Rica in “Panama — Measures Concerning the Importation of Certain Products from Costa Rica” (DS599).

Jordan launches safeguard investigation on safety and protective footwear

On 5 December 2024, Jordan notified the WTO’s Committee on Safeguards that it initiated on 1 December 2024 a safeguard investigation on safety and protective footwear.

🇺🇿 Uzbekistan advances WTO accession negotiations, reaffirms commitment to conclude by 2026

At the 9th meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of Uzbekistan on 5 and 6 December, a high-level government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev reaffirmed the country’s strong intention to swiftly advance negotiations with WTO members, with a view to completing the process by 2026. The high-level political engagement was welcomed by members, who encouraged Uzbekistan to continue its efforts to bring its trade regime into conformity with WTO norms.

Тут 2 новости. Одна из них точно хорошая:
- экспертиза китайцев подрастет (с интересной оговоркой про геополитику);
- можно ожидать выход 6-ой редакции самого лучшего учебника по праву международной торговли.

ЕАЭС и ОАЭ завершили переговоры о заключении соглашения об экономическом партнерстве

После вступления в силу соглашения об экономическом партнерстве преференциальным режимом будет охвачено более 90% взаимной торговли и более 85% товарной номенклатуры.

🎣 #subsidies
Индия и Индонезия заблокировали принятие проекта соглашения по ограничению рыболовных субсидий.

Как отметил председатель переговорной группы Гуннардссон:

The balancing measures so strongly requested by a couple of members would clearly unbalance the text for a large group of members.

At this point, it is not obvious to me how members might want to take the negotiations forward, and we need to reflect over what viable alternatives we have. 

Гендиректор ВТО негодует.