WTO Disputes Reach 500 Mark – Pak Files Complaint against South Africa in
Cement Dispute
In its 20th anniversary year,
the WTO has reached a significant milestone with the receipt of its 500th trade
dispute for settlement.
In the latest dispute,
Pakistan filed a request for consultations with South Africa regarding South
Africa’s imposition of a provisional anti-dumping duty on Portland cement from
Pakistan. The request was submitted to the WTO Secretariat on 10 November;
further information will be available within the next few days in document.
The 500th dispute was
submitted on 10 November, when Pakistan filed a request for consultations with
South Africa regarding South Africa’s provisional anti-dumping duty on cement
from Pakistan. The two sides will now consult with the aim of arriving at a
mutually agreed solution.
A total of 300 disputes were
brought under the dispute settlement system of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) - the predecessor to the WTO - over a period of 47 years. In
WTO, there is automatic establishment of dispute panels following the second
request by a WTO member and the adoption of dispute settlement reports unless
all members decide otherwise. The WTO mechanism also introduced the possibility
to appeal panel reports, a rare feature in international dispute settlement at
the time.
WTO is allocating more
resources to dispute settlement and working with members to find solutions.
Large Users of WTO DSB – India
in 6th Position, China 10th (However, Third Rank as
Respondent)
|
Member |
Complainant |
Respondent |
|
United States |
108 |
124 |
|
European Communities |
95 |
82 |
|
Canada |
34 |
18 |
|
Brazil |
27 |
16 |
|
Mexico |
23 |
14 |
|
India |
21 |
23 |
|
Japan |
21 |
15 |
|
Argentina |
20 |
22 |
|
Korea |
17 |
15 |
|
China |
13 |
33 |
|
Thailand |
13 |
3 |
|
Chile |
10 |
13 |
|
Indonesia |
10 |
13 |
|
Guatemala |
9 |
2 |
|
New Zealand |
9 |
0 |
|
Honduras |
8 |
0 |
|
Australia |
7 |
15 |
|
Panama |
7 |
1 |
|
Chinese Taipei |
6 |
0 |
|
Colombia |
5 |
4 |
|
Costa Rica |
5 |
0 |
|
Hungary |
5 |
2 |
|
Pakistan |
5 |
3 |
|
Philippines |
5 |
6 |
|
Norway |
4 |
0 |
|
Russian Federation |
4 |
6 |
|
Switzerland |
4 |
0 |
|
Ukraine |
4 |
3 |
|
Ecuador |
3 |
3 |
|
Peru |
3 |
5 |
|
Poland |
3 |
1 |
|
Vietnam |
3 |
0 |
|
Turkey |
2 |
9 |
|
Others |
15 |
62 |
Summary of disputes (as of 10 November 2015)
To date, 500 disputes have been brought to the WTO, of
which:
·
110 disputes have been resolved bilaterally or withdrawn
·
282 disputes have proceeded to the litigation phase
For the remainder, no outcome has been notified to the
WTO.
A total of 102 members have participated in a dispute
either as a complainant or a respondent or as a third party. That means 63% of
the membership has used the system.
The authorization for a member to retaliate once another
member has been found to be in violation of its WTO obligations has been given
18 times, which means only 10% of the disputes have reached this outcome of
last resort.
The compliance rate with dispute settlement rulings is
very high, at around 90%.