Tomorrow EU member states will consider revoking Russia's most-favored nation status at the @wto

bloom.bg/35sZlTB

Here's a thread to explain what this means.

1/ @wto The @wto's principle of most-favored-nation (MFN) nondiscrimination requires nations to offer the same tariff rates equally to all of the organization’s 164 members.

in essence, MFN is THE cornerstone of the WTO.

bit.ly/3hCbtnO

2/

Next week the @WTO will hold its 12th ministerial conference.

Here's a thread w/ (most) everything you need to know about #MC12 🧵

1/16 @wto What is the WTO?

The WTO is a UN-affiliated organization of 164 members.

It has 3 functions:
- Negotiate trade deals
- Monitor trade practices
- Settle disputes

A well-functioning WTO provides businesses w/ certainty & predictability to invest & operate abroad.

2/16

What happens now that @YooMyunghee1 has withdrawn from the @wto leadership race?

bloom.bg/3tnjMIC

Thread 👇

1/ @YooMyunghee1 @wto First, here's what it does NOT mean.

@YooMyunghee1's withdrawal does not mean @NOIweala immediately becomes the @wto's next director general.

That appointment is taken in a formal decision by the WTO's 164 members.

2/

Today is the last day of consultations to select the @wto's next Director General.

In Geneva, delegates are casting their final votes for the remaining two candidates -- @NOIweala or @YooMyunghee1

Here's a thread answering 13 questions about how the process works:

1/ @wto @NOIweala @YooMyunghee1 What is the role of the WTO director general?

WTO members typically select a leader who can help coordinate their meetings, make speeches mediate disagreements & ensure that the organization is running smoothly and its 600 employees are paid and happy.

2/

Good morning from Geneva.

Today is the third day of interviews for candidates to be the next @wto director general.

Today members will hear from:
• 🇸🇦 Mohammad Maziad Al-Tuwaijri
• 🇬🇧 ⁦@LiamFox⁩ @wto @LiamFox Here's a link to the candidates' profiles:
bloom.bg/2CvR16F

And here's a recap of the first two days of interviews:

Day 1
bit.ly/3fDvmYW

Day 2
bit.ly/3h5gym8

A broad renegotiation of America's bound @wto tariffs would be the most significant shift in U.S. trade policy over the past quarter century & would have myriad implications for the WTO's other 163 members.

A brief thread on why this is happening & how this works 👇

1/15

https://twitter.com/bbaschuk/status/1273113623330803716

@wto .@ustraderep says other nations treat the U.S. unfairly because it's bound by higher tariffs & its trading partners are unwilling to lower theirs -- such as EU passenger-car duties and Indian motorcycle tariffs.

Here's what Lighthizer plans to tell lawmakers today 👇

2/15

Good morning from snowy Geneva where it is now a settled fact that the @wto appellate body will be paralyzed at midnight 🕛 @wto Last night @wto Spokesman Keith Rockwell confirmed the US blocked an effort to restart the appointment of AB members.

"It's a serious crisis but the WTO has been through many crises in its short history," Rockwell said. "The reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated."

Good morning from the WTO, which this week will lose a critical tool that helps keep global trade wars in check.

Here’s what’s happening with the @wto appellate body: bloom.bg/2lZHk8p @wto Top trade officials in Geneva are gathering at the WTO for the trade body's last general council meeting of the year.

The 3-day meeting has a packed agenda that will touch on some of the most controversial aspects of the WTO's work.

Full agenda here: bit.ly/2s4wPnb

The civil war at the @wto appellate body escalates with a new letter written by three members (Bhatia, Servansing, Zhao) that rejects their colleague (Thomas Graham's) "insinuations about the competence and neutrality" of Werner Zdouc.

bit.ly/2Pa2Y4I @wto Graham has been sharply critical of Zdouc and threatened to step down from his role as an appellate body member after his term ends on Dec. 10 -- unless -- the WTO Director-General @WTODGAZEVEDO fired Zdouc.

Here's Bloomberg's story:
bloom.bg/35YAOjZ

Some background on the suspension of the EU-China non-market economy dispute.

It was expected but it's still a BFD.

Thread:

1/

https://twitter.com/bbaschuk/status/1140597163929624576

This is considered one of the biggest dispute cases facing the @wto. @USTradeRep Lighthizer once said if the WTO issued a “bad decision with respect to the non-market economy status of China,” it would be “cataclysmic for the WTO."
2/

U.S. @wto E-Commerce Proposal Reflects USMCA Digital Trade Chapter

bit.ly/2Y7F3Wh @wto Here's the text of the U.S. @wto e-commerce proposal.

It's not an exact Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V of the USMCA digital trade chapter -- but it's pretty close.

Compare here:
bit.ly/2LoV2xN

SCOOP: Today the @wto will issue its first ever ruling in a national security dispute.

That's a problem for @USTradeRep which says the WTO has no authority to mediate national security matters.

Story here; bloom.bg/2Ucdltl @wto @USTradeRep The ruling both confirms the @wto's authority to adjudicate GATT Article 21 national security disputes and to determine whether a country's measures are indeed necessary to protect a country’s security.

New #Brexit report out from @BertelsmannSt

Estimating the impact of Brexit on
European countries and regions:

bit.ly/2U5I6Qm @BertelsmannSt In a no-deal Brexit "we find, unsurprisingly, that the country that would lose out the most is the UK. Welfare would go down by 2.39%
which translates into 873 euros per capita and an aggregate cost – computed as cost per capita times population – of more than 57 billion euros."

Here's a (non-exhaustive) look at the parade of horribles Britain could face if it reverts to trade on @wto terms

bloom.bg/2E6c3qO

@business

1/ @wto @business Hardline Brexiteers want to leave the EU customs union and single market and trade on @wto terms.

They argue the advantages of a hard and fast break would enable the UK to regain control of its laws and strike new trade agreements with the US and other nations.

2/

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.

In three months the UK plans to exit the EU.
Absent any transition agreement, the UK will become an independent member of the @wto and must ensure its joint WTO commitments are disentangled from the EU.
2/ @wto In order to become an independent @wto member the UK must do 3 things:
I) Re-join the Government Procurement Agreement
II) Submit an independent WTO goods schedule
III) Submit an independent WTO services schedule
3/

The WTO’s last dispute settlement body meeting of the year just wrapped up and - no surprise here - Members failed to confirm any new appointments to the @wto appellate body. @wto There were some interesting developments though...

SCOOP: U.K. Wins Provisional Support to Join $1.7 Trillion @wto Deal:

bloom.bg/2BBzJ5e @wto Today's GPA 'agreement in principle' is a huge improvement from a month ago & indicates that the UK was successful in its bilateral efforts to address concerns of GPA members -- such as Moldova (bloom.bg/2EENKTp) -- who objected to the U.K.'s market access offer in October

More from Geneva: Countries Reject EU-U.K. Plan to Shape Post-Brexit Trade at @wto - on @TheTerminal @wto @TheTerminal More than a dozen countries on Tuesday said they opposed the European Union's proposal to modify its @wto commitments to account for Britain’s forthcoming departure from the European trading bloc.

SCOOP: U.S. Weighs Blocking U.K. From Global Procurement Pact: bloom.bg/2PlonGV This is an important development that could have serious ramifications for U.K. public procurement providers.
Thread ->> 1/

Here is the text of the @EU_Commission's concept paper for @wto reform:
bit.ly/2PHHdI3 @EU_Commission @wto Here is the @EU_Commission's plan for addressing the US-driven crisis confronting the @wto dispute settlement system.