NEW DELHI: Ahead of all-important meeting of WTO trade ministers in a fortnight, India has called for a comprehensive reform of the dispute settlement system and underlined the need for a comprehensive package, instead of a piece-meal approach pushed by certain members.
WTO’s dispute settlement body is defunct as the US under multiple presidents, starting with Barack Obama, has stalled appointments to the appellate body, second tier of the mechanism.While almost all countries are seeking to revive the system as it gave all member nations a chance to challenge rules that were seen to be against global norms, the US has blocked any attempts to revive it.
Given the mandate at the last meeting of ministers, WTO members are seeking to work out a solution, ahead of next ministerial in Abu Dhabi but the proposals on the table are not seen to be equitable by countries such as India, prompting it to join hands with Indonesia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Egypt and Bangladesh. The countries submitted a proposal on Monday.
They have argued that central interest of reviving the appellate body has not been addressed during the deliberations so far. Instead, the attempt has been to undermine the fundamental nature of the “rules-based, two-tier” system, with a standing appeal mechanism and decisions that are binding, the paper said. The current system allows for a dispute settlement panel, whose decisions can be appealed.
The proposal, which has been discussed, has sought changes in composition of the panel, which India and the other countries that have submitted the paper, argued will impact interests of developing and least developed nations. The panel is being given powers to categorise cases into standard, complex and extraordinarily complex cases, which are being opposed. Similarly, expedited timeframes, are seen to be impacting the possibility of arriving at amicable solutions.
There are also concerns that composition of the dispute settlement panels is sought to be reworked in a way that it could increase the possibility of certain geographies and legal systems dominating them.
WTO’s dispute settlement body is defunct as the US under multiple presidents, starting with Barack Obama, has stalled appointments to the appellate body, second tier of the mechanism.While almost all countries are seeking to revive the system as it gave all member nations a chance to challenge rules that were seen to be against global norms, the US has blocked any attempts to revive it.
Given the mandate at the last meeting of ministers, WTO members are seeking to work out a solution, ahead of next ministerial in Abu Dhabi but the proposals on the table are not seen to be equitable by countries such as India, prompting it to join hands with Indonesia, South Africa, Bangladesh, Egypt and Bangladesh. The countries submitted a proposal on Monday.
They have argued that central interest of reviving the appellate body has not been addressed during the deliberations so far. Instead, the attempt has been to undermine the fundamental nature of the “rules-based, two-tier” system, with a standing appeal mechanism and decisions that are binding, the paper said. The current system allows for a dispute settlement panel, whose decisions can be appealed.
The proposal, which has been discussed, has sought changes in composition of the panel, which India and the other countries that have submitted the paper, argued will impact interests of developing and least developed nations. The panel is being given powers to categorise cases into standard, complex and extraordinarily complex cases, which are being opposed. Similarly, expedited timeframes, are seen to be impacting the possibility of arriving at amicable solutions.
There are also concerns that composition of the dispute settlement panels is sought to be reworked in a way that it could increase the possibility of certain geographies and legal systems dominating them.
