Low-income countries should be empowered to access the WTO dispute settlement system
Baha’a AL Armouti was a keynote speaker in the annual conference of the Strategic Alliance for WTO and Trade Remedies Law and Practice, which was hosted last week in New Delhi by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Baha’a Eddin AL Armouti was a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Strategic Alliance for WTO and Trade Remedies Law and Practice, hosted last week in New Delhi by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
In his speech, AL Armouti shared his perspective on the current developments impacting the WTO and the effectiveness of the Dispute Settlement System. He remarked, "Recently, I have been trying to assess where we stand today as an international community regarding our commitments and what the future might hold given the current circumstances. These developments seem to have weakened the international trade framework generally and the WTO specifically. However, I believe we are still in a stable position. There is certainly a crack in the jewel, but it is not severe enough to split it apart, at least in the near future. This crack has existed since the beginning, but we only noticed it as we got closer to the crown."
AL Armouti praised the Dispute Settlement System, saying, "There is no doubt that the Dispute Settlement System is quite an achievement, providing for the first time a rule-based and time-bound system since the establishment of the WTO in 1995."
Addressing the drawbacks of the Dispute Settlement System, he highlighted criticisms often raised by the Trump administration, which led to the US blocking the election of Appellate Body judges. He explained that these drawbacks were minor and could be remedied by amending the Appellate Body’s Working Procedures, as proposed by many scholars and WTO members. "These popular drawbacks stem from allegations that the Appellate Body's practices violated WTO rules. The ruling process took longer than allowed by the Dispute Settlement Understanding in many cases. Some Appellate Body judges continued working on cases despite the expiration of their terms, and some Appellate Body decisions were seen as overreaching."
He also pointed out significant drawbacks of the Dispute Settlement System, stating, "The Appellate Body blocking story reveals how political intimidation works in the WTO, attempting to enforce positions on members unilaterally without dialogue. Political intimidation significantly contributes to the crack in the jewel, and WTO members should seriously consider preventing it to save the Appellate Body and the WTO as a rule-based system from becoming a power-based system."
AL Armouti further emphasized the challenges faced by low-income developing and least developed countries in utilizing the WTO Dispute Settlement System. "While everyone seems focused on developing WTO rules, these countries struggle to understand them and are unable to use the Dispute Settlement System at all."
Reflecting on Jordan's experience, he said, "The non-use of the Dispute Settlement System by many developing and least developed countries, including Jordan, results from a general unfamiliarity with the free market economy system before joining the WTO. The culture and knowledge of the free market economy were lacking, especially within governmental institutions. In Jordan, we transitioned rapidly from a semi-closed economy to a free and open market economy in three years, perceiving the WTO more as commitments than rights. For instance, we had no trade remedies in our economic regime before joining the WTO in 2000, while trade remedies knowledge and practice had existed in the United States and Europe for over 100 years."
He added that other reasons include insufficient awareness campaigns for the public, private sectors, and judiciary. "Awareness programs conducted in Jordan by the WTO were not sufficient. With the lack of free market economy knowledge and practice, awareness must be at a very intensive level, and the WTO still lags in this regard."
Cost was another significant barrier he mentioned. "Cost remains a serious obstacle to using the Dispute Settlement System. The United States employs over 300 lawyers to handle dispute settlement cases, while many other countries have none. In one WTO case, dispute settlement proceedings cost Japan as much as 10 million dollars. Low-income developing and least developed countries cannot afford such costs."
Concluding his speech, AL Armouti stated, "We need to replace the cracked jewel with a shinier, more beautiful, and uncrackable jewel that is considered genuine by all WTO members."
Baha’a Eddin AL Armouti was a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Strategic Alliance for WTO and Trade Remedies Law and Practice, hosted last week in New Delhi by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
In his speech, AL Armouti shared his perspective on the current developments impacting the WTO and the effectiveness of the Dispute Settlement System. He remarked, "Recently, I have been trying to assess where we stand today as an international community regarding our commitments and what the future might hold given the current circumstances. These developments seem to have weakened the international trade framework generally and the WTO specifically. However, I believe we are still in a stable position. There is certainly a crack in the jewel, but it is not severe enough to split it apart, at least in the near future. This crack has existed since the beginning, but we only noticed it as we got closer to the crown."
AL Armouti praised the Dispute Settlement System, saying, "There is no doubt that the Dispute Settlement System is quite an achievement, providing for the first time a rule-based and time-bound system since the establishment of the WTO in 1995."
Addressing the drawbacks of the Dispute Settlement System, he highlighted criticisms often raised by the Trump administration, which led to the US blocking the election of Appellate Body judges. He explained that these drawbacks were minor and could be remedied by amending the Appellate Body’s Working Procedures, as proposed by many scholars and WTO members. "These popular drawbacks stem from allegations that the Appellate Body's practices violated WTO rules. The ruling process took longer than allowed by the Dispute Settlement Understanding in many cases. Some Appellate Body judges continued working on cases despite the expiration of their terms, and some Appellate Body decisions were seen as overreaching."
He also pointed out significant drawbacks of the Dispute Settlement System, stating, "The Appellate Body blocking story reveals how political intimidation works in the WTO, attempting to enforce positions on members unilaterally without dialogue. Political intimidation significantly contributes to the crack in the jewel, and WTO members should seriously consider preventing it to save the Appellate Body and the WTO as a rule-based system from becoming a power-based system."
AL Armouti further emphasized the challenges faced by low-income developing and least developed countries in utilizing the WTO Dispute Settlement System. "While everyone seems focused on developing WTO rules, these countries struggle to understand them and are unable to use the Dispute Settlement System at all."
Reflecting on Jordan's experience, he said, "The non-use of the Dispute Settlement System by many developing and least developed countries, including Jordan, results from a general unfamiliarity with the free market economy system before joining the WTO. The culture and knowledge of the free market economy were lacking, especially within governmental institutions. In Jordan, we transitioned rapidly from a semi-closed economy to a free and open market economy in three years, perceiving the WTO more as commitments than rights. For instance, we had no trade remedies in our economic regime before joining the WTO in 2000, while trade remedies knowledge and practice had existed in the United States and Europe for over 100 years."
He added that other reasons include insufficient awareness campaigns for the public, private sectors, and judiciary. "Awareness programs conducted in Jordan by the WTO were not sufficient. With the lack of free market economy knowledge and practice, awareness must be at a very intensive level, and the WTO still lags in this regard."
Cost was another significant barrier he mentioned. "Cost remains a serious obstacle to using the Dispute Settlement System. The United States employs over 300 lawyers to handle dispute settlement cases, while many other countries have none. In one WTO case, dispute settlement proceedings cost Japan as much as 10 million dollars. Low-income developing and least developed countries cannot afford such costs."
Concluding his speech, AL Armouti stated, "We need to replace the cracked jewel with a shinier, more beautiful, and uncrackable jewel that is considered genuine by all WTO members."
Baha’a Eddin AL Armouti was a keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Strategic Alliance for WTO and Trade Remedies Law and Practice, hosted last week in New Delhi by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
In his speech, AL Armouti shared his perspective on the current developments impacting the WTO and the effectiveness of the Dispute Settlement System. He remarked, "Recently, I have been trying to assess where we stand today as an international community regarding our commitments and what the future might hold given the current circumstances. These developments seem to have weakened the international trade framework generally and the WTO specifically. However, I believe we are still in a stable position. There is certainly a crack in the jewel, but it is not severe enough to split it apart, at least in the near future. This crack has existed since the beginning, but we only noticed it as we got closer to the crown."
AL Armouti praised the Dispute Settlement System, saying, "There is no doubt that the Dispute Settlement System is quite an achievement, providing for the first time a rule-based and time-bound system since the establishment of the WTO in 1995."
Addressing the drawbacks of the Dispute Settlement System, he highlighted criticisms often raised by the Trump administration, which led to the US blocking the election of Appellate Body judges. He explained that these drawbacks were minor and could be remedied by amending the Appellate Body’s Working Procedures, as proposed by many scholars and WTO members. "These popular drawbacks stem from allegations that the Appellate Body's practices violated WTO rules. The ruling process took longer than allowed by the Dispute Settlement Understanding in many cases. Some Appellate Body judges continued working on cases despite the expiration of their terms, and some Appellate Body decisions were seen as overreaching."
He also pointed out significant drawbacks of the Dispute Settlement System, stating, "The Appellate Body blocking story reveals how political intimidation works in the WTO, attempting to enforce positions on members unilaterally without dialogue. Political intimidation significantly contributes to the crack in the jewel, and WTO members should seriously consider preventing it to save the Appellate Body and the WTO as a rule-based system from becoming a power-based system."
AL Armouti further emphasized the challenges faced by low-income developing and least developed countries in utilizing the WTO Dispute Settlement System. "While everyone seems focused on developing WTO rules, these countries struggle to understand them and are unable to use the Dispute Settlement System at all."
Reflecting on Jordan's experience, he said, "The non-use of the Dispute Settlement System by many developing and least developed countries, including Jordan, results from a general unfamiliarity with the free market economy system before joining the WTO. The culture and knowledge of the free market economy were lacking, especially within governmental institutions. In Jordan, we transitioned rapidly from a semi-closed economy to a free and open market economy in three years, perceiving the WTO more as commitments than rights. For instance, we had no trade remedies in our economic regime before joining the WTO in 2000, while trade remedies knowledge and practice had existed in the United States and Europe for over 100 years."
He added that other reasons include insufficient awareness campaigns for the public, private sectors, and judiciary. "Awareness programs conducted in Jordan by the WTO were not sufficient. With the lack of free market economy knowledge and practice, awareness must be at a very intensive level, and the WTO still lags in this regard."
Cost was another significant barrier he mentioned. "Cost remains a serious obstacle to using the Dispute Settlement System. The United States employs over 300 lawyers to handle dispute settlement cases, while many other countries have none. In one WTO case, dispute settlement proceedings cost Japan as much as 10 million dollars. Low-income developing and least developed countries cannot afford such costs."
Concluding his speech, AL Armouti stated, "We need to replace the cracked jewel with a shinier, more beautiful, and uncrackable jewel that is considered genuine by all WTO members."
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