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Volume 24 - February 2025

Contents

Original Article

  • An Economic Assessment of the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement with Realistic Preference Utilization Rates

  • Camille Van der Vorst
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    15 November 2024, pp. 1-24
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  • Recent years have seen an increased focus on the implementation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). While the number of PTAs has risen remarkably since early 2000, data on the utilization of preferential tariffs under these agreements point out that some businesses have not gained access to all the benefits that PTAs can provide. When utilization rates are low, the impact of the agreement will likely differ from what was anticipated by ex-ante economic research. This paper conducts a dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) analysis of the expected impact of the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and compares a scenario that includes realistic preference utilization data with a standard scenario where all tariff liberalization is assumed to be fully utilized by businesses. The results show considerable differences between the two scenarios and illustrate the need to make the inclusion of credible utilization data standard practice in the modelling of international trade.

  • An Environmental Agreement in a Trade Court – Is the WTO's Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies Enforceable?

  • Kathleen Auld, Linda Del Savio, Loretta Feris
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    17 October 2024, pp. 25-49
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  • The 2022 Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS) is the culmination of over 20 years of negotiations within the WTO's Doha Development Round. Although it can be considered a small victory in the fight against declining fish stocks, the Agreement remains unfinished and underdeveloped. Of particular concern is the enforceability of the Agreement. While WTO Members recognize that the AFS was created to deal with a problem that has both socioeconomic and environmental implications, the Agreement relies on established WTO dispute settlement rules, which were created to resolve trade disputes. The paper assesses the difficulties of enforcing the AFS under these rules and considers additional provisions that could be included in subsequent negotiating rounds to ensure an effective and enforceable agreement. Recommendations cover different stages of the dispute settlement process and include alternative means of dispute resolution, measures to expedite proceedings, and retaliation procedures adapted to the AFS.

  • Long-Term Relationship over Litigation: Mediation in WTO Dispute Settlement Proceedings

  • Jaemin Lee
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    18 October 2024, pp. 50-74
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  • The Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM), once regarded as the jewel in the crown of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has been facing a variety of serious criticisms for its inherent limitations and problems while its appellate review function has been paralyzed. Discussions on the reform of the WTO DSM have been under way for several years now. Many key items are on the reform agenda, one of which is to introduce Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) proceedings to the WTO DSM. Among several options of ADR, ‘mediation’ can offer an important set of tools for the WTO and its Members to resolve disputes in a more efficient and prompt manner. If properly structured, mediation can complement the existing binding proceedings of panels and the Appellate Body. At the same time, introduction of mediation to the WTO DSM may also cause additional legal and practical problems. It may cause further delays, confidentiality traps, due process myriads, and enforcement loopholes. It is vital to introduce mediation provisions to address those critical problems. Systematized and structuralized mediation in the WTO DSM will be able to offer a viable alternative path to resolve certain complex and sensitive disputes.

  • The Unsettled Governance of the Dual-Use Items under Article XXI(b)(ii) GATT: A New Battleground for WTO Security Exceptions

  • Alexandr Svetlicinii, Xueji Su
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    06 November 2024, pp. 75-100
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  • In an era marked by the ‘technologization’ of modern warfare and the privatization of military supply chains, numerous items possess dual-use potential, capable of serving both civilian and military ends. Concurrently, governments increasingly view the acquisition of specific goods, materials, services, and technologies by rival states as a threat to their security. As a result, economic restrictions imposed on dual-use items, including export controls, have proliferated in recent years. These measures have elicited concerns regarding disguised protectionism and potential non-compliance with trade agreements. Central to the debate is the difficulty to strike a balance between addressing legitimate security imperatives and preventing economic protectionism. This article delves into the intersection of trade and security in the regulation of dual-use goods. It offers a focused examination of Article XXI(b)(ii) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) concerning trade restrictions on products destined for military use. The paper first reveals limitations of this provision in governing the regulation of dual-use items. Furthermore, it introduces the concept of a ‘purpose test’ provided by the provision as a safeguard against abusive invocation. Lastly, it sheds light on the challenge posed by the standard of proof issue, which complicates the review and mitigation of bad-faith invocations of security exceptions.

  • Disentangling Legal Stability from Legitimate Expectations: Towards Greater Deference to Regulatory Changes in Renewable Energy Transition Policies in Investment Arbitration

  • Chen Yu
  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    13 November 2024, pp. 101-119
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  • The obligation of stability generally requires host States to maintain a relatively stable regulatory framework to mitigate political risks facing foreign investments. It has played a significant role in international investment tribunals’ review of host States’ renewable energy transition policies. This paper critically reviews tribunals’ interpretation of the obligation with a particular focus on the Spanish cases involving renewable energy incentive schemes. It canvasses the two ‘dimensions’ adopted by investment tribunals in the interpretation of stability, namely the protection of legitimate expectations and States’ right to regulate for public purposes. Examining the contents of the two dimensions separately, this paper argues that legal stability should be disentangled from the notion of legitimate expectations and be assessed through the reasonableness of regulatory changes per se. It further argues that an intrusive interpretation of legal stability lacks legal and institutional bases; instead, more deferential standards should be adopted in the review of renewable energy transition policies.

Book Review

Front Cover (OFC, IFC) and matter

  • WTR volume 24 issue 1 Cover and Front matter

  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    12 February 2025, pp. f1-f2
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Back Cover (IBC, OBC) and matter

  • WTR volume 24 issue 1 Cover and Back matter

  • Published online by Cambridge University Press:
    12 February 2025, pp. b1-b3
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