Cloves and Intentional Discrimination

Over at Global Trade Watch's blog, Todd Tucker cites the paragraph I quoted in the last post (see the paragraph before as well), and says: the AB ... comes pretty damn close to stating that “the design, architecture, revealing structure, operation, and application of” the FSPTCA was intended to

The Cloves AB Report: Distinguishing Cloves and Menthol

There are some interesting aspects to the Appellate Body's legal reasoning on "less favorable treatment" in Cloves.  Ultimately, though, the AB's decision to uphold the Panel's finding of violation probably came down to skepticism over the regulatory distinction between clove and menthol

The Cloves AB Report: Individual vs. Group Comparisons

Here's another paragraph I like from the Cloves AB report: 193. Once the imported and domestic like products have been properly identified, Article 2.1 requires a panel dealing with a national treatment claim to compare, on the one hand, the treatment accorded under the technical regulation at

The Clove Cigarettes Appellate Body Report

It's out:  http://www.worldtradelaw.net/reports/wtoab/us-clovecigarettes(ab).pdf After a quick skim, it seems that the Appellate Body has upheld the panel's finding of violation of TBT Article 2.1, under modified reasoning. Regular readers of this blog will not be surprised to

(Alleged) Non-Compliance in EC - Aircraft

The U.S. Article 21.5 panel request in EC - Aircraft is here.  A key issue will be subsidies to the Airbus A350, a new model.  Recall that the panel excluded these subsidies from the original dispute: 7.314 Thus, in conclusion, after carefully reviewing the evidence and arguments

Questions about Suspending GSP Benefits to Argentina

Last week, President Obama announced that he would suspend Argentina's GSP benefits, due to an alleged failure to enforce two arbitration awards: Having considered the factors set forth in section 502(b)(2)(E) of the 1974 Act, I have determined pursuant to section 502(d) that it

WTO Financial Services Rules and Domestic Regulation

From a recent NY Times article about WTO financial services rules: Back in the 1990s, when many in Washington — and virtually everyone on Wall Street — embraced the deregulation that helped lead to the recent crisis, a vast majority of W.T.O. nations made varying commitments to what’s called

The Upcoming TBT Decisions

Here are some dates for those waiting for the Appellate Body to explain key provisions of the TBT Agreement: - The Clove Cigarettes report will be circulated on schedule by April 4. - The Appellate Body will need a little more than the usual 90 days in the Tuna-Dolphin case,

The Scope of TBT Agreement Article 2.2

From paras. 117-118 of the the U.S. appellant submission in U.S. - COOL, here are two views of the scope of TBT 2.2.  First, the view the U.S. doesn't like: ... In other words, the Panel finds that because the COOL measure does not contribute

Mexico-Brazil Auto Dispute

Long-time reader Daniel Vazquez offers some insights on the Mexico-Brazil auto trade dispute discussed by the WSJ a little while back: After reading this article there are several issues that come to mind. First, why did Mexico give up the fight in the first round? It is understood that the