Preventing the Bad from Getting Worse: The End of the World (Trade Organization) As We Know It?

Hoekman, Bernard M.; Mavroidis, Petros C.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3531704

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…The consequent response by the EU, supported by Brazil, China, Canada, Mexico and a dozen other countries, to create the MPIA, while understandable, risks fragmenting the dispute settlement system without addressing weaknesses in its design and operation noted above and discussed at greater length in the literature (e.g., Mavroidis, 2016b). Even if the alternative proposed here would be considered, there are other, arguably more fundamental challenges confronting the WTO, notably the difficulty of negotiating new agreements and revisiting old ones (Hoekman and Mavroidis, 2020). Revitalizing the WTO as a forum for trade cooperation is critical to sustain the rules-based multilateral trading system.…”

Section: Connecting To the Broader Wto Reform Agendamentioning

confidence: 93%

“…They can adjudicate but cannot invent law to adjudicate. This should have as natural consequence the acknowledgment of non liquet (Hoekman and Mavroidis, 2020). Panellists should be allowed to throw the ball back to the membership, whenever they feel that they do not possess the necessary tools to 16 Blustein (2019) points a bleak picture in this respect.…”

Section: Complementary Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This approach could be applied in the wider 23 See, e.g., Hoekman and Kostecki (2009), McDougal (2018), Karttunen (2020). 24 Hoekman and Mavroidis (2020). See more broadly, for example, Wolfe (2015), Baldwin (2016), Maull (2018) and Smith (2018).…”

Section: Concluding Remarks: Dsu+mentioning

confidence: 99%

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To AB or Not to AB? Dispute Settlement in WTO Reform

Hoekman¹,

Mavroidis²

2020

Journal of International Economic Law

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Recent debates on the operation of the World Trade Organization’s dispute resolution mechanism have focused primarily on the appellate body. We argue that this neglects the first-order issue confronting the rules-based trading system: sustaining the principle of depoliticized conflict resolution that is reflected in the negative consensus rule for the adoption of dispute settlement findings. Improving the quality of the work of panels by appointing a roster of full-time professional adjudicators, complemented by reforms to World Trade Organization working practices that reduce incentives to resort to formal dispute settlement, can resolve the main issues that led to the appellate body crisis. Effective, coherent, and consistent World Trade Organization dispute resolution need not include an appellate body. An appropriately redesigned single-stage process can serve just as well, if not better.

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Section: Connecting To the Broader Wto Reform Agendamentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Complementary Changesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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To AB or Not to AB? Dispute Settlement in WTO Reform

Hoekman¹,

Mavroidis²

2020

Journal of International Economic Law

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“…Significant innovations have been made in this respect by WTO members. Mandating WTO adjudicating bodies to request that WTO members clarify and/or address gaps in WTO agreements and putting in place measures that support deliberation in WTO committees on such matters is a complementary area of reform that can improve conflict resolution (Hoekman and Mavroidis, 2020 , 2021; Wolfe, 2020). In the context of the TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade), and the SPS (Sanitary and Phyto‐sanitary) Agreements, members have resorted to a process in which they may raise ‘specific trade concerns’ (STCs) in committee deliberations (Karttunen, 2020).…”

Section: Wto Reform Prioritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Resolving the AB crisis and bolstering the dispute settlement function is critical for the continued relevance of the WTO. As of October 2020, 14 appeals were pending before the dysfunctional AB, raising the question what the status is of the associated panel reports (Hoekman and Mavroidis, 2021). Article 16.4 DSU permits appeal of panel reports even if the AB is non‐operational.…”

Section: Wto Reform Prioritiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

WTO Reform: Back to the Past to Build for the Future

Hoekman

Mavroidis

2021

Global Policy

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Since its formation, with a few notable exceptions, WTO members have not been able to negotiate new rules on policies that generate negative international spillovers. The Doha Development Agenda negotiations, launched in 2001, became deadlocked in 2008. Problems extend beyond negotiationsother functions of the WTO are also not performing well. The dispute settlement mechanism, long perceived as the crown jewel of the organization, no longer is operational because of US refusal to appoint new WTO Appellate Body members. Calls for WTO reform have been mounting. This article provides an overview of the WTO reform agenda, drawing on the findings of recent multidisciplinary research to provide context for the papers included in this special issue on trade conflicts, multilateral cooperation and WTO reform. Policy Implications• The WTO faces two interconnected challenges: reestablishing an effective dispute settlement mechanism and reviving the negotiation function. Doing one and not the other will not suffice to revitalize multilateral trade cooperation.• Overcoming the legislative crisis calls for direct engagement among China, the EU and the US on new rules for subsidies, state-owned enterprises and industrial policy. Agreement to address associated policy spillovers is needed to permit reestablishment of an Appellate Body.• Negotiations on open plurilateral agreements among groups of WTO members are a way to address the WTO consensus working practice constraint and to complement traditional trade agreements with issue-specific cooperation among likeminded economies.• Reforms should build on innovations adopted in several WTO bodies to open and encourage greater participation by stakeholders in committee meetings, including business, regulators, and other international organizations.• The WTO reform agenda should include a focus on improving the ability of the Secretariat to provide information and analysis, link the WTO to epistemic communities in regulatory policy areas that are salient for trade, and ensure that adjudicators at the panel and appellate level fully control the WTO dispute settlement system.

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The World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Mechanism

Switzer

2022

The Environment Through the Lens of International Courts and Tribunals

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The relationship between trade and environmental protection is one that has provoked much by way of debate. While there is recognition within WTO legal texts that trade liberalisation can have an impact upon environmental protection, much of the more contentious issues pertaining to the relationship between trade and the environment have been left to the WTO dispute settlement system to pronounce on. This chapter assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the WTO dispute settlement system as a forum for resolving disputes involving environmental matters. This chapter argues that while the jurisprudence of the WTO dispute settlement system has been sensitive to the idea that countries should have sufficient policy space to enact measures for environmental purposes, significant question marks remain over a number of questions such as how non-WTO law should be treated within the WTO dispute settlement system. With an increasing range of environmental threats facing the world, not least the spectre of climate change, change is needed within the WTO to better ensure a mutually supportive relationship between trade and environmental protection.

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Preventing the Bad from Getting Worse: The End of the World (Trade Organization) As We Know It?

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

To AB or Not to AB? Dispute Settlement in WTO Reform

To AB or Not to AB? Dispute Settlement in WTO Reform

WTO Reform: Back to the Past to Build for the Future

The World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Mechanism

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