WTO To Employ Jurors To Do Away With Trade Disputes ff
18 October 2002
Thailand Supachai Panitchpakdi, new head of the World Trade Organization, said the WTO should establish a pool of professional trade jurors to hear trade disputes. Supachai said the WTO needs to head off trade fights early.
So far this year, the WTO dispute-settlement body has been asked to rule on 25 new cases. Since the WTO was formed in 1995, nations have brought 268 complaints for a formal judgment, the Journal noted.
He said the WTO will have to make its legislation more specific so countries will have to abide by the letter of the law.
The US and Europe have exchanged numerous accusations of unfair trading practices in recent months. There are also some hefty trade disputes between the Philippines and Thailand on one hand and the EU and the USA on the other hand concerning tuna trade. The Asian countries are pushing since a couple of years for the same tuna duty benefits as the ACP countries. The dispute has been before the WTO for quite some time and verdicts are expected in a couple of moths.
