Profile picture
, 6 tweets, 3 min read
My Authors
Read all threads
The suspended Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting resumed today after Thailand and the Philippines agreed to continue consultations with the chair on procedure.

(Details are usually published on the WTO website later)

It contained a gem of a curiosity.

1/6
The DSB is the WTO membership meeting to manage and decide on legal disputes. Today, it adopted 2 appeal reports:

1. DS499: Russia — Measures affecting the importation of railway equipment and parts thereof (complaint by Ukraine) wto.org/english/tratop…

2/6
And

2. DS505: United States — Countervailing Measures on Supercalendered Paper from Canada wto.org/english/tratop…

In DS505, the US objected to adopting this appeal ruling, arguing that none of the three Appellate Body judges was eligible to serve.

3/6
The terms of two of the three appeals judges had expired (but they had agreed to continue working on this and two other cases because it was almost done.

wto.org/english/tratop…

4/6 Screenshot of list of current Appellate Body members on the linked page, highlighting dates when three of their terms expired
The US claimed the third, Hong Zhao, was ineligible because she works for an organisation affiliated to the Chinese government. China denied the affiliation.

The EU then spoke …

wto.org/english/tratop…

5/6
The EU said that under the rules, the US should have raised the objection about Hong Zhao’s conflict of interest with the “standing Appellate Body”.

Who, I hear you ask, is the “standing Appellate Body”?

Why, none other than Ms Hong Zhao.

6/6
wto.org/english/tratop… Screenshot of the current list of Appellate Body members highlighting the dates when their terms expire or expired
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh.

Enjoying this thread?

Keep Current with Peter Ungphakorn

Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime, convert it as a PDF, save and print for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video

1) Follow Thread Reader App on Twitter so you can easily mention us!

2) Go to a Twitter thread (series of Tweets by the same owner) and mention us with a keyword "unroll" @threadreaderapp unroll

You can practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @CoppetainPU see all

Profile picture
Peter Ungphakorn
@CoppetainPU
I see some analysts say ALL the level playing field provisions would be “dynamic alignment” with the EU.

Is it so clear-cut?

The umbrella paragraph says “… high standards over time with the Union standards as a reference point”.

But “reference point” is pretty vague.

1/3
On specific areas among these, all but one say something like “… common standards applicable within the [EU & UK] at the end of the transition period”. That’s not “dynamic”. It’s non-rollback

But for state aid: “application of Union state aid rules”. Deliberately different

2/3
So my take for what it’s worth

● The EU definitely wants dynamic alignment for state aid
● Other areas are at most vaguely “dynamic”, depending on how “reference point” is applied
● The UK would be a rule-taker in the transition. After, only on state aid, but no rollback

3/3
Read 3 tweets
Profile picture
Peter Ungphakorn
@CoppetainPU
I don’t usually do “quick takes” but there's always room for an exception or two.

Here’s one on the EU’s negotiating mandate for talks with the UK

It’s a broad-brush look. Others will scrutinise the detail (as they already have with earlier drafts)

ec.europa.eu/commission/pre…

1/6
In general the negotiating mandate identifies subjects to be negotiated with a lot of potential areas of cooperation or adherence to international standards or agreements.

Experts can spot the likely direction of travel, as here 👇🏽

2/6
But overall the mandate leaves lots of room for negotiation to fill in the detail.

We know that some areas are difficult, eg, reciprocal access for fisheries 👇🏽 but even in this section there’s potential room for cooperation (if goodwill prevails)

consilium.europa.eu/media/42736/st…

3/6
Read 12 tweets
Profile picture
Peter Ungphakorn
@CoppetainPU
The Guardian says this comes under the heading “Environment and health”, not as we’d expect in the section on Sanitary/Phytosanitary measures.

So I took a look …

1/4
This is the section, including the phrase “health and product sanitary quality in the agricultural food sector”. It’s in a long list of common standards that “should” continue to apply beyond the end of the transition.

2/4
consilium.europa.eu/media/42736/st… Screenshot of paragraph 103 on page 29, highlighting
How will “quality” be interpreted? Will it even be spelt out in the final deal?

There seems to be lots of room to negotiate (or avoid negotiating) here, irrespective of what commitments the UK is prepared to make. Note also the “should”.

We’ll see.

3/4
consilium.europa.eu/media/42736/st… Repeat screenshot of paragraph 103 on page 29, highlighting
Read 4 tweets

Related threads

Profile picture
Steve Peers
@StevePeers
1/ The Commission has just published the proposed negotiation mandate for the future EU/UK relationship: ec.europa.eu/info/sites/inf…

First thoughts, as I read through it...
2/ Note that this is a *proposal* for a negotiation mandate. The mandate is decided on by the Council, ie Member States' ministers. Under the proposal they would have to act unanimously (I will explain why in a moment).
3/ The Commission will then negotiate, in accordance with the Treaties. But note *it will have a mandate from Member States when doing so*. Barnier will not be on a frolic of his own. (This point was often missed during the withdrawal agreement negotiations)
Read 35 tweets
Profile picture
Holger Hestermeyer
@hhesterm
A quick thread on the WTO Appellate Body - hopefully readable for non trade geeks.
You might have seen it in the news: the WTO is in crisis. What is it all about? (Thread)
The WTO does several things: it serves as a negotiation hub for trade liberalisation, a forum for exchange on trade AND it settles disputes about the WTO agreements between WTO members /2
Now the WTO negotiation function has slowed to a rather gentle pace given the WTO has 164 members that do not always agree. To put it gently. /3 wto.org/english/thewto…
Read 25 tweets
Profile picture
IndoPacific_SCS_info
@IndoPac_Info
‘Almost an invasion’: Protesters in #Philippines slam Duterte for weak response over disputes in #SouthChinaSea - Flag-waving marchers chanted ‘#China out’ outside the Chinese consular office in Manila 👍💪🇵🇭💪👍 scmp.com/news/asia/sout…
Protesters descended on the Chinese embassy in Manila on Tuesday to oppose China’s growing sway in the Philippines, as tensions continue to rise over Beijing’s presence in the contested South China Sea.
Flag-waving marchers chanted “China out” and brandished a banner saying “Defend our sovereign rights”, referring to Beijing’s expansive claims to the resource-rich waterway.
Read 8 tweets
Profile picture
Christophe Barraud🛢
@C_Barraud
🇺🇸 🇨🇳 *U.S. WAITING TO HEAR FROM #CHINA ON TRADE DEAL, KUDLOW SAYS - BBG
*KUDLOW EXPECTS U.S.-CHINA MEETING IN MARCH IN MAR-A-LAGO
*TRUMP, LIGHTHIZER ARE VERY CLOSE, KUDLOW TELLS CNBC
🇺🇸 🇨🇳 #CHINA WOULD HAVE TO NOTE ANY FX INTERVENTION UNDER DEAL: KUDLOW - BBG
🇺🇸 🇨🇳 *MNUCHIN SAYS #CHINA #TRADE TALKS INCLUDE 150-PAGE DOCUMENT - BBG
Read 819 tweets
Profile picture
Bryce Baschuk
@bbaschuk
This morning the @wto dispute settlement body is expected to grant China's second request for a dispute inquiry into @realDonaldTrump's tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods.

Here's a look at what's at stake:
bloom.bg/2WoxHxN

@bpolitics
@tictoc
@wto @realDonaldTrump @bpolitics @tictoc At today's @wto dispute settlement meeting in Geneva a U.S. envoy said a dispute inquiry into @realDonaldTrump's tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods would be `pointless' because China has already retaliated with tariffs against $100 billion worth of U.S. exports.
@wto @realDonaldTrump @bpolitics @tictoc U.S. Statement - "China’s request is entirely hypocritical. China is currently damaging the United States not only through its forced technology transfer practices but additionally by imposing discriminatory duties on over $100 billion in U.S. exports."
Read 6 tweets
Profile picture
Christophe Barraud🛢
@C_Barraud
🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇨🇳 🇮🇷 #Canada arrests #Huawei’s global chief financial officer in Vancouver – The Globe and Mail
theglobeandmail.com/canada/article…
A gauge of #technology shares on the MSCI #Asia Pacific Index slid as much as 3 percent before paring some losses - Bloomberg
🇺🇸 #SPX ⬇ as much as 1.9% from Tuesday’s close, before paring some losses. Selling pressure early in the session was so intense that it forced CME Group to intermittently pause trading, according to a spokesperson for the exchange - Bloomberg
*Link: bloom.bg/2BTw5DN
Read 736 tweets

Trending hashtags

#respect #14October #Trade #Bangkok #Pentagon #photo #animation #Philippines #Corruption #Intel #tradewar #2StateIllusion #MuellerReport #ALUMINUM #chipmakers #UK #capitalmarkets #accesstocspital #cnpoli #accesstocapital #IPhone #manufacturing #seeker #GazaFence #Malaysia

Embed code for your website

×
Follow Us on Twitter!

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just three indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3.00/month or $30.00/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!