WTO averts crisis as Taiwan accepts Chinese judge
Thursday, 29 November 2007
GENEVA, Nov 28 (Agencies): The World Trade Organisation (WTO) averted a crisis yesterday, when Taiwan agreed to the appointment of a Chinese judge to the top WTO court, allowing it to resume its key work of resolving trade disputes.
Besides its role as the forum for negotiations to open up world trade, the WTO acts as the umpire of the international trading system, handling trade rows between its 151 members worth billions of dollars.
Taiwan's surprise refusal last Monday to allow China's first judge to be appointed to the WTO appellate body prompted senior trade diplomats to say the organisation was in serious crisis.
Appeal judges, at the top of a system dealing with disputes covering steel, aircraft, pasta, DVDs, retreaded tyres, bananas and a host of other issues, have to be impartial and not connected to any government.
But, without naming individual candidates, Taiwan had cited concerns about the impartiality of one of the judges.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, Australia's WTO ambassador Bruce Gosper, who chairs the dispute settlement body, and other senior figures launched a huge round of lobbying to convince Taiwan that the appeal judges had been selected fairly.
This effort, including a letter from Lamy to Taiwan's Economic Affairs Minister Steve Chen, also sought to reassure Taipei that WTO rules require appeal judges to be independent of governments and safeguard the rights of all members.
Meanwhile, Brazil and Canada have both asked the WTO to investigate subsidies given to US farmers, trade sources said yesterday.
Brazil first filed its complaint in July. Since then it has been involved in bilateral discussions with the US, but as these have not yielded any progress, it has taken its complaint to the WTO's dispute settlement body.
Canada has also made its first request at the DSB.
Canada claims Washington has violated WTO commitments on subsidies for a wide variety of crops, including corn, wheat, soybeans, sugar, peas and beans.
Canada accuses the US of exceeding its commitments on subsidies by billions of dollars in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Brazil's complaint covers subsidies over the same period. In 2005, the DSB ruled that US farm subsidies gave US cotton an unfair advantage in the world market, seriously harming Brazil's cotton growers.
Besides its role as the forum for negotiations to open up world trade, the WTO acts as the umpire of the international trading system, handling trade rows between its 151 members worth billions of dollars.
Taiwan's surprise refusal last Monday to allow China's first judge to be appointed to the WTO appellate body prompted senior trade diplomats to say the organisation was in serious crisis.
Appeal judges, at the top of a system dealing with disputes covering steel, aircraft, pasta, DVDs, retreaded tyres, bananas and a host of other issues, have to be impartial and not connected to any government.
But, without naming individual candidates, Taiwan had cited concerns about the impartiality of one of the judges.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, Australia's WTO ambassador Bruce Gosper, who chairs the dispute settlement body, and other senior figures launched a huge round of lobbying to convince Taiwan that the appeal judges had been selected fairly.
This effort, including a letter from Lamy to Taiwan's Economic Affairs Minister Steve Chen, also sought to reassure Taipei that WTO rules require appeal judges to be independent of governments and safeguard the rights of all members.
Meanwhile, Brazil and Canada have both asked the WTO to investigate subsidies given to US farmers, trade sources said yesterday.
Brazil first filed its complaint in July. Since then it has been involved in bilateral discussions with the US, but as these have not yielded any progress, it has taken its complaint to the WTO's dispute settlement body.
Canada has also made its first request at the DSB.
Canada claims Washington has violated WTO commitments on subsidies for a wide variety of crops, including corn, wheat, soybeans, sugar, peas and beans.
Canada accuses the US of exceeding its commitments on subsidies by billions of dollars in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005.
Brazil's complaint covers subsidies over the same period. In 2005, the DSB ruled that US farm subsidies gave US cotton an unfair advantage in the world market, seriously harming Brazil's cotton growers.