WTO dysfunction gives us a breather

Since its inception in 1995, the WTO dispute settlement mechanism has resolved an impressive number of trade disputes

Last Tuesday, our government appealed against the ruling of a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel that some provisions of our export promotion schemes amount to prohibited subsidies that must be discontinued in the next few months.  

Effectively, this stalls implementation of the ruling. Under WTO rules, the panel recommendations must be adopted by its Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) within 30 days — unless one of the parties to the dispute formally notifies the DSB of its decision to appeal or the latter decides by consensus not to adopt the report. Where a panel report is appealed, the Appellate Body of the