Immer mehr staatlich verordnete Grenzen im Cyberspace

Das internationale Handelsrecht im Rahmen der WTO könnte zur Eindämmung dieser Tendenzen dienen - An der unlängst in Bern durchgeführten Tagung «Trade Governance in the Digital Age» wurden unter anderem die neuen künstlichen Grenzen im Internet thematisiert. Die Autorin gibt einige Eindrücke über die diskutierten Fragestellungen wieder.

Should There Be New Multilateral Rules for Digital Trade?

The Internet revolution and the digital environment have spurred a significant amount of innovative activity that has had spillover effects on many sectors of the economy. For a growing group of countries – both developed and developing – digital goods and services have become an important engine of economic growth and a clear priority in their future-oriented economic strategies. Neither the rapid technological developments associated with digitization, nor their increased societal significance have so far been reflected in international economic law in a comprehensive manner. The law of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in particular, has not reacted in any proactive manner. A pertinent question that arises is whether the WTO rules are still useful and able to accommodate the new digital economy or whether they have been rendered outdated and incapable of dealing with this important development? The present think-piece seeks answers to these questions and maps the key issues and challenges which the WTO faces. In appraisal of the current state of affairs, developments in venues other than the WTO, and proposals tabled by stakeholders, some recommendations for the ways forward are made.

The European Union, the World Trade Organization and Cultural Diversity

The chapter maps these trade versus culture developments in the WTO and the positions of the European Union (EU or the Union) and its member states, which were not always coherent. It also looks at the actual results of the trade versus culture contestation – that is, the rules on trade in goods and services in the WTO and how they reflect the need for more policy space in matters of cultural policy, which the EU so ardently pressed for. The chapter further analyses the evolution of both the international trade regulation and the discourse on cultural policy. This discourse has in fact undergone a major transformation in the last two decades, as it has moved from the ‘exception culturelle’ rhetoric, which dominated the Uruguay trade talks, towards a more positive but also more pro-active agenda under the slogan of cultural diversity. The EU has been a major driver of this transformation, which has succeeded in mobilising the international community and ultimately led to the adoption of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The chapter concludes by appraisal of the current state of the debate situating it into the broader picture of contemporary global governance. It asks how the EU could effectively pursue its cultural policy aspirations and endorse its cultural diversity agenda in a world of complexity and rapid technological change, in particular in view of the affordances of digital media.

Towards a treaty instrument on marine genetic resources

Marine genetic resources other than fish and mammals are of increasing commercial interest and importance in genetic engineering, but fail being properly addressed in the law of the sea and in international economic law. The paper analyses the implication of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Convention on Biodiversity, the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and related instruments under the auspices of WIPO. The paper argues that the triangle of these agreements does not adequately address marine genetic resources in particular in the high seas. Neither concerns of protecting biodiversity nor of access and benefit sharing find appropriate answers commensurate to the commercial potential of marine genetic resources. The paper suggests developing an instrument inspired by, and comparable to, the mechanisms developed by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The instrument would grant facilitated access to marine genetic resources and offer a more detailed set of rules with respect to the sharing of benefits resulting from their use, thereby addressing the existing legal gaps in a comprehensive way.

Three “Bali Deliverables” for more Food Security

As the clock is ticking for a positive outcome at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Bali in December 2013, agricultural negotiators are scrambling to find solutions to issues such as tariff-rate quota (TRQ) administration and export competition in order to improve trade flows. The main issue seems to be whether WTO rules applying to public stockpiles in developing countries need to be changed or temporarily suspended as a means to enhance national food security. This paper is based on a note submitted to the ICTSD-IPC Expert Group “Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security – Policy Options for MC9 and beyond” (Geneva, June 2013). It lists the policy instruments impacting on global, national and (urban and rural) household food security – “The Food Security Tool Box” – and asks which immediate decisions the WTO Ministers might take in this field despite the political difficulties such as continued agro-dumping practices or the “land grab” issue. Three such “deliverables” are outlined: (i) regional and “virtual” food security schemes could be allowed to provide reserves to other countries without violating the obligation to “form an integral part of a food security programme identified in national legislation” (Agreement on Agriculture, Annex II, para 3); (ii) TRQ under-fills could be improved by mandatory enquiries into low fill rate situations; and (iii) World Food Program (WFP) and other non-commercial food purchases could be exempted from export restrictions and prohibitions. High ambitions for Bali seem to be misplaced. A more realistic yet real progress could restore the dwindling credibility of the WTO as a forum for trade negotiations.

Rechtliche Grundlagen für die Ernährungssicherheit in der Schweiz

The Right to Food, as enshrined in international law, has found its way into national constitutions and practices. What matters from a national and international legal point of view is how this policy objective is implemented. In Switzerland, a number of policies and their instruments are relevant here, namely agricultural, supply/stockpile, trade and development policies. This paper (in German) asks whether the policy instruments are coherent and how implementation conflicts and negative spill-over effects could be minimised. It finds that the four policy objectives enshrined in the Federal Constitution are not in themselves incoherent. However, certain Swiss agricultural policy instruments, even where they are compatible with relevant rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), do have an avoidable negative impact on the Right to Food of developing country producers, because Swiss Food Security is overwhelmingly and increasingly defined by agricultural (self-reliance) policies (“Food Sovereignty”). This implies higher domestic food prices, commercial displacement and food dumping. The conclusions suggest a number of optimisations as a contribution to the presently on-going reform process for 1983 National Economic Supply Act 1983 (NESA), such as virtual stockpiles and taxpayer-financed stockpile costs.

Can the World Trade Organization Ensure that International Food Aid is Genuine?

The Doha Round negotiation mandate proposes to minimise trade distortions and commercial displacement under the cover of international food aid, without preventing genuine food aid from reaching people in need. This paper presents problematic aspects of food aid for trade and competition, an overview of the international governance of food aid, and the present rules on food aid embodied in Article 10.4 of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture. The latest available Draft Modalities for Agriculture (December 2008) are seen as an only halfway successful implementation of the Doha mandate. A new text with better targeted disciplines and a political food aid commitment as part of the Doha Round Final Act are proposed in the conclusions.

Ökologische Anforderungen an das Inverkehrbringen von Produkten: USG-Revision und Spielräume im internationalen Recht

Der verfassungsrechtliche Spielraum des Gesetzgebers bei der Konkretisierung der Ziele der Nachhaltigkeit im Wirtschafts- und Umweltrecht wird in erster Linie durch die völkerrechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen der WTO sowie die Rechtsbeziehungen der Schweiz mit der EU definiert. Der vorliegende Beitrag behandelt die Frage, ob und inwieweit die Einfuhr von Rohstoffen und unmittelbar daraus gewonnenen Basisprodukten von einer nachhaltigen Produktionsweise im Ausland abhängig gemacht werden darf. Diese Thematik ist in der Umwelt- und Klimapolitik von zunehmender Bedeutung. Herstellungsverfahren und ihre Auswirkungen auf Mensch und Umwelt rücken in den Vordergrund. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, dass die Förderung von freiwilligen Labels und internationalen Standards für Best Practices zwar im Vordergrund steht, einseitige Importrestriktionen von Produkten anknüpfend am Kriterium von sog. PPM (Production and Process Methods) im Rahmen des WTO-Rechts jedoch nicht ausgeschlossen sind, sofern die Grundsätze der Nichtdiskriminierung sowie der Verhältnismässigkeit beachtet werden und vorgängig eine einvernehmliche Lösung mit dem Exportstaat angestrebt wird. Solche Importrestriktionen haben – nebst freiwilligen Massnahmen − als wichtige Instrumente der Umwelt- und Klimapolitik in der Rechtsprechung Anerkennung gefunden. Dies sowohl im Rahmen des Allgemeinen Zoll- und Handelsabkommens als auch des Abkommens zur Beseitigung technischer Handelshemmnisse. Bisher wenig genutzte Möglichkeiten, die Einfuhr zu begrenzen, bestehen darüber hinaus in der Zollpolitik für Produkte, die von ausserhalb des Europäischen Wirtschaftraumes eingeführt werden. Das Freihandelsabkommen zwischen der Schweiz und der EU folgt im Wesentlichen den gleichen Grundsätzen wie das WTO-Recht und lässt PPMs als Unterscheidungsmerkmale für an sich gleichartige Produkte ebenfalls grundsätzlich zu.

Swiss Policies for more Food Security

Resource-poor yet blissful Switzerland is also one of the most food-secure countries in the world: there are abundant food supplies, relatively low retail prices in terms of purchasing power parity, with few poverty traps. Domestic production covers 70% of net domestic consumption. A vast and efficient food reserve scheme insures against import disruptions. Nonetheless, the food security contribution by the four sectoral policies involved is mutually constrained: our agriculture is protected by the world’s highest tariffs. Huge subsidies, surface payments, and some production quotas substitute market signals with rent maximisation. Moreover, these inefficiencies also prevent trade and investment policies which would keep markets open, development policies which would provide African farmers with the tools to become more competitive, and supply policies which would work against speculators. The paralysing effect of Swiss agricultural policies is exacerbated by new “food security subsidies” in the name of “food sovereignty” while two pending people’s initiatives might yet increase the splendid isolation which in effect reduce Swiss farmer competitiveness and global food security. Is there a solution? Absent a successful conclusion of the Doha Round (WTO) or a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP) further market openings and a consequent “recoupling” of taxpayer support to public goods production remain highly un-likely. To the very minimum Switzerland should resume the agricultural reform process, join other countries trying to prevent predatory behaviour of its investors in developing countries, and regionalise its food reserve.

Das Ende der bilateralen Handelsabkommen?: Was Mega-Abkommen wie das Freihandelsabkommen EU-USA (TTIP) für die Schweiz bedeuten

Zwei Jahrzehnte lang hat sich im internationalen Handelsrecht wenig bewegt. Durch die Paralyse der WTO genossen bilaterale Handelsabkommen viel Aufmerksamkeit und waren während 20 Jahren das primäre Instrument für die Weiterentwicklung und Vertiefung der Handelsbeziehungen. Vor gut einem Jahr hat sich die Dynamik geändert: Mit mehreren sogenannten Mega-Abkommen, plurilateralen Initiativen und dem ersten neuen Entscheid der WTO seit vielen Jahren, verlieren bilaterale Handelsabkommen an Attraktivität und Nutzen. Diese neue Dynamik bringt deutlich zum Vorschein, dass der handelspolitische Alleingang steigende Kosten mit sich bringt und die fortschreitende Globalisierung einen Imperativ zur Vernetzung und Kooperation schafft. Ob die Schweiz bereit ist, der neuen Herausforderung proaktiv zu begegnen, wird sich weisen.

Labour Migration, Trade and Investment: From Fragmentation to Coherence

Trade, investment and migration are strongly intertwined, being three key factors in international production. Yet, law and regulation of the three has remained highly fragmented. Trade is regulated by the WTO on the multilateral level, and through preferential trade agreements on the regional and bilateral levels – it is fragmented and complex in its own right. Investment, on the other hand, is mainly regulated through bilateral investment treaties with no strong links to the regulation of trade or migration. And, finally, migration is regulated by a web of different international, regional and bilateral agreements which focus on a variety of different aspects of migration ranging from humanitarian to economic. The problems of institutional fragmentation in international law are well known. There is no organizational forum for coherent strategy-making on the multilateral level covering all three areas. Normative regulations may thus contradict each other. Trade regulation may bring about liberalization of access for service providers, but eventually faces problems in recruiting the best people from abroad. Investors may withdraw investment without being held liable for disruptions to labour and to the livelihood and infrastructure of towns and communities affected by disinvestment. Finally, migration policies do not seem to have a significant impact as long as trade policies and investment policies are not working in a way that is conducive to reducing migration pressure, as trade and investment are simply more powerful on the regulatory level than migration. This chapter addresses the question as to how fragmentation of the three fields could be reme-died and greater coherence between these three areas of factor allocation in international economic relations and law could be achieved. It shows that migration regulation on the international level is lagging behind that on trade and investment. Stronger coordination and consideration of migration in trade and investment policy, and stronger international cooperation in migration, will provide the foundations for a coherent international architecture in the field.

The Dialectical Relationship of Preferential and Multilateral Trade Agreements

Preferentialism and multilateralism are not two independent and succinct avenues in the pur-suit of market access and regulatory policies. They historically build upon each other in a dialectical process, closely related and linked through regulatory bridges and references. They influence and direct each other in various ways. The paper mainly focuses on the evolution of international protection of intellectual property rights and of services. The multilateral regulation of the TRIPS and others derive from years of regulatory experience and high numbers of preferential agreements across the globe. The GATS and others, on the other hand, have entered the pluri- or multilateral stage early. Once regulation has reached the mul-tilateral stage, preferentialism focuses on WTO-plus and -extra commitments. Both areas, however, show close interaction. The principle of MFN ensures that multilateralism and preferentialism do not evolve independently from each other. It produces significant spill-over effects of preferential agreements. Such effects and the need to develop uniform and coherent regulatory standards have led in parallel to a number of preferential, plurilateral and multilateral regulatory initiatives. We submit that the process will eventually encourage the return to multilateralism and negotiations in international fora, in particular the WTO while traditional market access may stay with preferential relations among Nations. Such burden-sharing between different regulatory fora should be reflected in future WTO rules providing the overall backbone of the system.

The Jurisprudence of the World Trade Organization 2014

In 2014, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted seven panel reports and six Appellate Body rulings. Two of the cases relate to anti-dumping measures. Three cases, comprising five complaints, are of particular interest and these are summarized and discussed below. China – Rare Earths further refines the relationship between protocols of accession and the general provisions of WTO agreements, in particular the exceptions of Article XX GATT. Recourse to that provision is no longer excluded but depends on a careful case-by-case analysis. While China failed to comply with the conditions for export restrictions, the case reiterates the problem of insufficiently developed disciplines on export restrictions on strategic minerals and other commodities in WTO law. EC – Seals Products is a landmark case for two reasons. Firstly, it limits the application of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) resulting henceforth in a narrow reading of technical regulations. Normative rules prescribing conditions for importation are to be dealt with under the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) instead. Secondly, the ruling permits recourse to public morals in justifying import restrictions essentially on the basis of process and production methods (PPMs). Meanwhile, the more detailed implications for extraterritorial application of such rules and for the concept of PPMs remain open as these key issues were not raised by the parties to the case. Peru – Agricultural Products adds to the interpretation of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), but most importantly, it confirms the existing segregation of WTO law and the law of free trade agreements. The case is of particular importance for Switzerland in its relations with the European Union (EU). The case raises, but does not fully answer, the question whether in a bilateral agreement, Switzerland or the EU can, as a matter of WTO law, lawfully waive their right of lodging complaints against each other under WTO law within the scope of their bilateral agreement, for example the Agreement on Agriculture where such a clause exists.

Sustainable development in international law making and trade: International food governance and trade in agriculture

This timely book provides an accessible insight into how the concept of sustainable development can be made operational through its translation into legal terms. Understood as a multidimensional legal principle, sustainable development facilitates coherent international law making. Using this notion as an analytical lens on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, the book considers the unresolved question of what a sustainable and coherent agricultural trade agreement could look like.

The World Trade Organization - Law, Practice and Policy, 3rd edition

The WTO is one of the most important intergovernmental organizations in the world, yet the way in which it functions as an organization and the scope of its authority and power are still poorly understood. This comprehensively revised new edition of the acclaimed work by an outstanding team of WTO law specialists provides a complete overview of the law and practice of the WTO.