Seventeen members of the World Trade Organization, including the European Union, China and several Latin American countries, agreed this Friday (24.01.2020/XNUMX/XNUMX) to create a temporary mechanism to settle trade disputes after the United States paralyzed the WTO's appeals body last month.
The European Commission said that countries that agreed to this contingency plan will preserve the WTO's two-step dispute system. until the official Appellate Body is operational again.
Washington has frozen the Appellate Body, which acts as the supreme court for international trade, by blocking appointments for more than two years. Two of the three members of the body ended their terms in December, making it impossible for them to issue rulings.
The EU had earlier joined Norway and Canada in forming separate appeals bodies to resolve disputes.
The other countries that signed on Friday are Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Singapore, Switzerland and Uruguay.
Although the United States is outside the group, President Donald Trump on Wednesday in Davos promised “very dramatic” action for the Geneva-based WTO. The institution’s director general, Roberto Azevedo plans to visit Washington soon.
An EU source said the bloc welcomed the fact that the Trump administration was engaging with the WTO, which many of its members believe needs to be reformed to reflect changes in the global economy, including the rise of China.
Source: Reuters
The statement is here.
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