Law Commons^™

The Club Approach To Multilateral Trade Lawmaking, Nicolas Lamp

Nicolas Lamp

The World Trade Organization (WTO) stands at the center of an emerging world of global economic governance. Its rules affect important aspects of all our lives – how much we pay for the products that we purchase, what types of employment are open to us, and which medicines we can access. And yet, while the WTO was conceived as a “negotiating machine” that would develop rules in sync with an increasingly dynamic global economy, negotiations on a new set of global trade rules have now been deadlocked for over a decade. This impasse is all the more surprising in light …

Australian Plain Packaging Law, International Litigations And Regulatory Chilling Effect, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

Introduction of plain packaging law by Australia in 2012 was met with strong opposition from transnational tobacco companies (TTCs). While advocates of the law see it as a logical step in governmental efforts to curb tobacco use and improve public health in Australia, TTCs claim that the new law is scientifically unsound, overly intrusive and that it infringes a number of international law provisions relating to trademark and property protection. Some TTCs, either directly or indirectly,have decided to test the Australian measure before international tribunals. Although, these challenges are connectedwith interests held by TTCs in Australia, they should be seen …

The Tbt Agreement And Tobacco Control Regulations, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The article analyses reports issued by the panel and the Appellate Body in the US – Measures Affecting the Productions and Sale of Clove Cigarettes dispute and attempts to assess their broader consequences for national tobacco control policies. Both reports are particularly important because they clarify the limits existing under WTO law, in particular the TBT Agreement, in this policy space. In this context, the article investigates whether the WTO dispute settlement bodies interpreted relevant rules of the TBT Agreement in a manner that provides countries with sufficient regulatory autonomy while ensuring at the same time that their technical measures …

Integrating African Markets Into The Global Exchange Of Services: A Central African Perspective, Regis Y. Simo

Regis Y. Simo

Services liberalisation has gradually become very important for growth in developed and less-developed countries alike and can, as such, be seen as development prospects for sub-Saharan Africa where numerous economic integration attempts are stories of repeated failures. Despite the abundant literature on PTAs, however, little attention has been given to Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) as a trade bloc. This is an attempt to address that dearth

At a time when “boosting intra-African trade” is gaining currency on the continent, this article tests the compatibility of the potential CEMAC economic integration agreement (EIA) against the background of the …

A Failure To Consider: Why Lawmakers Create Risk By Ignoring Trade Obligations, David R. Kocan Professor

David R. Kocan Professor

The U.S. Congress frequently passes laws facially unrelated to trade that significantly impact U.S. trade relations. These impacts are often harmful, significant, and long-lasting. Despite this fact, these bills rarely receive adequate consideration of how they will impact trade. Without this consideration, Congress cannot properly conduct a cost-benefit analysis necessary to pass effective laws. To remedy this problem, the U.S. Trade Representative should evaluate U.S. domestic law to determine whether it is consistent with international trade obligations. Moreover, the U.S. Congress committee structure should be amended so that laws that might impact trade are considered within that light. In the …

The Who Framework Convention On Tobacco Control As An International Standard Under The Tbt Agreement?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

In this article Lukasz Gruszczynski argues that there are good grounds for considering the Guidelines to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (‘FCTC’) relevant international standards under the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (‘TBT Agreement’). The structure of the article is as follows: (1) Part I provides an overview of the relevant sections of the TBT Agreement and its ambiguities with respect to defining an international standard; (2) Part II sets out the aims, purpose and governance structure of the FCTC; (3) In light of the overviews of the TBT Agreement and the FCTC, Part III then considers whether …

Re-Tuning Tuna? Appellate Body Report In Us – Tuna Ii, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

Under the TBT Agreement, a labelling requirement can be qualified as a technical regulation, and not as a standard, even if it does not constitute a precondition for placing a product for sale on the relevant market. Examination of “no less favourable treatment” under Article 2.1 requires determining whether a measure modifies the conditions of competition in the relevant market to the detriment of imported like products, and whether such detrimental impact stems exclusively from a legitimate regulatory distinction rather than reflecting discrimination against the group of imported like products. The evaluation of whether a measure is more trade-restrictive than …

United States - Certain Measures Affecting Imports Of Poultry From China. Just Another Sps Case?, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) may apply to budgetary measures if they are motivated by SPS concerns. Equivalence-based measures are subject to the regular disciplines of the SPS Agreement, including but not limited to Article 4 SPS. This means that WTO Members, when engaging in the recognition process, need to observe other SPS provisions such as the requirement of a scientific risk assessment (Articles 5.1-5.3) or the quasi-consistency obligation of Article 5.5. A measure which has been found inconsistent with certain provisions of the SPS Agreement (e.g. Articles 2 and 5) cannot be …

Reconstruing Wto Legitimacy Debates, Michael Fakhri

Michael Fakhri

There is an emerging consensus that the WTO is in grave need of institutional redesign. For the last fifteen years, questions of WTO institutional reform have been framed as a matter of improving the WTO’s legitimacy. This Article suggests that thinking about WTO redesign as a matter of improving its legitimacy limits our ability to fundamentally appreciate what the WTO’s function and purpose is and conceptualize what it should be. It would be more useful to know what is exactly at stake and what have been the social, political, and economic implications of the legitimacy debate thus far. The legitimacy …

Is China A ‘Currency Manipulator’?: The Legitimacy Of China’S Exchange Regime Under The Current International Legal Framework, Bryan Mercurio, Celine Sze Ning Leung

Bryan Mercurio

While most economists are in agreement that China’s currency is undervalued, economists are less certain as to the effect of the undervaluation. Despite the equivocal data, critics of China’s regime claim that the undervaluation leads to cheaper, and therefore increased exported goods, while at the same time raising the price of imported goods. For this reason, U.S. lawmakers perpetually raise the issue and periodically initiate legislation, which would deem China a “currency manipulator” and thus trigger retaliatory measures. Lawyers are less certain whether there can be a multilateral solution to the perceived problem.

With the existing legal literature consisting mostly …

Ec Incentive Arrangements For Sustainable Development And Good Governance (Gsp Plus) And Wto Law – Critical Analysis, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This article analyses the current general system of preferences of the EC in order to assess its conformity with the international obligations imposed by law of the World Trade Organization. The analysis is carried out in light of the recent WTO ruling, which found the old system of preferences incompatible with WTO law. In this context, the article argues that some aspects of the new system relating to special incentive arrangements for sustainable development and good governance may potentially conflict with the requirements of international trade law.

’Including Trade In Counterfeit Goods’: The Origins Of Trips As A Gatt Anti-Counterfeiting Code, Christopher Wadlow

Christopher Wadlow

Like corruption, commercial counterfeiting has no apologists and no redeeming features. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) TRIPs Agreement incorporates provisions intended to address the problem of counterfeit goods in international trade, but these seem to have achieved little more than to slow the trajectory of its growth. However, the low profile of these provisions within TRIPs disguises the fact that TRIPs itself may ultimately be traced to a modest initiative by American business interests to include an “anti-counterfeiting code” within the GATT Tokyo round. This article describes the origins and history of the code, and its gradual metamorphosis into the …

The Role Of Science In Risk Regulation Under The Sps Agreement, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This paper attempts to present a comprehensive and coherent picture of the role performed by science under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Agreement and SPS case law. It argues that the approach adopted by the Appellate Body is predominantly based on a technical paradigm, supplemented, however, with some considerations arising from other paradigms. The paper argues that the approach adopted in the case law is generally compatible with the text of the SPS Agreement and provides a coherent SPS system. However, it also identifies certain areas which lack coherence, as certain standards seem to violate the right of the …

Science In The Process Of Risk Regulation Under The Wto Agreement On Sanitary And Phytosanitary Measures, Lukasz A. Gruszczynski

Lukasz A Gruszczynski

This article attempts to present a comprehensive and coherent picture of the position occupied by science under the SPS Agreement and in the SPS case law. It claims that the approach adopted by the Appellate Body reflects the explicit language of the SPS Agreement and is predominantly based on a technical paradigm. In consequence, science plays a critical role in distinguishing between legal and illegal SPS measures. The article argues that such an approach is generally compatible with the text of the SPS Agreement and provides a coherent SPS system. However, it also identifies certain areas, which lack coherence, as …