WTO Cites “Chronic” Low Compliance with Subsidy Notification
Requirements
WTO members continue to fall well behind in meeting their
obligations to notify the organization of their subsidy programmes.
That was the assessment delivered by the chair of the WTO’s Committee on
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) at a meeting on 27 October.
Despite efforts to encourage members to improve the
timeliness of their notifications, including offers of technical assistance
from the WTO Secretariat, "compliance with the obligation to notify
subsidies unfortunately remains low," the chair, Michèle
Legault Dooley of Canada, told the committee.
A total of 83 WTO members have not yet made their new and
full subsidy notifications for 2019, despite a deadline for submission of
notifications more than a year ago. In addition, 68 members still have not made
their subsidy notifications for 2017, although the deadline was more than three
years ago, while 58 members still have not made their 2015 notifications, which
were due more than five years ago.
The chair noted that the "chronic" low
compliance with subsidy notifications continues despite members having stressed
the importance of the information provided through subsidy notifications and
recommitting at their 2017 Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires to the
implementation of existing notification obligations under Article 25.3 of the
SCM Agreement.
The United States submitted a further revised proposal (G/SCM/W/557/Rev.4) for ensuring timely responses to questions posed by
members on the subsidy programmes of other
members.
Several members expressed their support for the proposal,
while one member cautioned developing countries may have difficulties in
meeting the timelines for responses. Members agreed to continue to discuss the
proposal.
Canada, the European Union, Norway, Japan and the United
States expressed their joint concern about the role of subsidies in
contributing to excess production capacity in certain sectors.
Election of chair
At the end of the meeting, members elected Ms Sungyo Choi of the Republic of
Korea as the new chair of the SCM Committee.