US obstruction leads to the shutdown of the Appellate Body, and the WTO encounters a "cold wave"

(Source: People’s Daily Overseas Edition 2019-12-14)

    On December 10, local time, Director General Azevedo of the World w88 Organization (WTO) announced that the draft resolution to improve the WTO’s Appellate Body has not been passed, and the Appellate Body will stop accepting new dispute cases on December 11. "The WTO has fallen into the biggest crisis in its 25-year history." The British "Guardian" commented.

    As the final arbitration body for the settlement of w88 disputes, the Appellate Body is known as the "jewel in the crown of the WTO". When the "Pearl" is covered in dust, the international community is generally worried, and the rules-based global multilateral trading system is severely challenged.

WTO "Cardiac Arrest"

The direct reason for the "suspension" of the WTO's Appellate Body is the insufficient number of judges. According to WTO regulations, the Appellate Body has seven permanent judges, each with a four-year term. Any w88 dispute case must be jointly heard and adjudicated by three judges. However, as of December 11, the WTO Appellate Body has only one judge left and cannot accept any cases.

Since the first half of 2017, the WTO has been shrouded in the shadow of the "paralysis" of the Appellate Body. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the United States believes that the Appellate Body has abused its power and has problems such as "ultra vires rulings", "overdue trials" and judges' "overdue service". It has repeatedly blocked the selection of new judges for more than two years.

At the WTO General Council meeting held on December 9, the United States once again obstructed. A draft resolution on the reform of the Appellate Body was not passed, and the selection of new judges was once again blocked.

The BBC report pointed out that the United States also put pressure on the Appellate Body on budget issues. "The WTO budget initially approved this month shows that the 2020 budget has been significantly reduced, especially the budget of the Appellate Body, which has been cut by nearly 90%. This makes the operation of the Appellate Body even worse."

One of the most basic and core functions of the WTO is to resolve w88 disputes for members. As the "Supreme Court" of international w88, the Appellate Body not only has the power to review the "preliminary ruling" report issued by the WTO expert panel, but its ruling is considered a final judgment and has enforceable force. Therefore, the German "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" described the "suspension" of the Appellate Body as the "cardiac arrest" of the WTO.

According to China’s Ministry of Commerce spokesperson Gao Feng, there are currently 15 ongoing cases in the WTO that have been appealed. Except for the 4 cases that have held hearings, the remaining 11 cases have not been able to complete the appeal hearing.

"The closure of the WTO's Appellate Body will plunge international w88 disputes into a situation like 'a football match without a referee.'" the British "Times" warned.

The "Law of the Jungle" is no good

Tu Xinquan, Dean of China WTO Research Institute, w88 casinoIn an interview with this reporter, the United States analyzed that the United States has always been dissatisfied with the institutional design of the WTO’s Appellate Body, believing that the Appellate Body has “overstepped its authority” and restricted the “freedom” of the United States to pursue w88 policies, failing to meet its own expectations. In actual operation, the Appellate Body has made some rulings that are unfavorable to the United States, which has also caused a lot of complaints from the United States.

Reuters said: “The United States is both the largest plaintiff and the largest defendant in the WTO, but it only focuses on failed cases.”

"The current U.S. government adopts a w88 protectionist stance. It has sentenced the Appellate Body to 'death'. The United States can use its strong strength to resolve w88 disputes with other countries and force other countries to change their positions and make concessions." Tu Xinquan pointed out, "The biggest feature of the Appellate Body is its independence and impartiality. Once the Appellate Body is 'suspended,' 'national strength' will replace 'rules' as the basis of international w88. This is very dangerous."

As Azevedo said, if global w88 rules are not implemented effectively, the world economy will return to the "law of the jungle" era. An article published on the website of the American Foreign Affairs Magazine stated with concern: "The United States is struggling against the international order it has promoted. Once unilateralism spreads, countries will resolve w88 disputes through tariff barriers instead of legal rules. This is a kind of beggar-thy-neighbour w88 protectionism."

Public opinion generally believes that the United States will not benefit from a world that loses order. "Voice of America" quoted business people as saying, "WTO rules protect U.S. companies from unfair treatment and hidden protectionism every day. Protecting this institution and its dispute settlement mechanism should become a top priority for the country and the international community." Bachus, the former chief judge of the Appellate Body and former U.S. w88 negotiator, told the BBC, "Without a w88 ruling, the escalating tariff war can only rely on economic strength. The United States is very likely to receive tit-for-tat tariff retaliation from its trading partners."

In Tu Xinquan’s view, the United States’ actions to undermine the Appellate Body will have an impact on its soft power. If things go on like this, the authority of international w88 rules will be severely damaged, and the United States will not be able to survive alone.

Multilateralism is still the mainstream

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying recently stated that the international community cannot lose fairness and justice, and cannot allow individual countries and individuals to do whatever they want. I believe this is the common aspiration of the vast majority of members of the international community. "We have noticed that 117 members have called for the immediate start of the selection process, which demonstrates the strong political will of the vast majority of members to restore the Appellate Body. China is willing to work with the overwhelming majority of like-minded people to continue to promote the resolution of the challenges facing the Appellate Body."

Maintaining the multilateral trading system is still the consensus of most countries. Azevedo pointed out that the "suspension" of the Appellate Body does not mean the end of the rules-based dispute settlement mechanism under the WTO framework. He revealed that he had begun "intensive consultations" with members to find a long-term solution.

Some WTO members have proposed temporary alternatives. The European Union, Canada, etc. have stated that they will launch an interim appeal arbitration process during the "suspension" of the Appellate Body. Some w88 experts also suggest that the two parties to the dispute negotiate and use the preliminary ruling report as the final ruling to avoid the dispute settlement becoming "undecided".

Gao Feng said that China will continue to firmly safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system and support the efforts of all parties to resume the operation of the Appellate Body. "We are also studying the interim plan for handling WTO dispute cases during the paralysis of the Appellate Body, and will put forward China's suggestions in a timely manner and strive to work with other members to restore the effective operation of the dispute settlement mechanism as soon as possible."

Tu Xinquan pointed out that economic globalization is a historical trend. Although the WTO is currently facing severe challenges, the need for close economic and w88 cooperation among countries has not changed and will not change. Even the United States cannot truly be isolated from the world. It should be believed that through the joint efforts of the international community and WTO members, the rules-based multilateral trading system will continue to demonstrate its vitality and provide a strong foundation for the forward development of economic globalization. (Our reporter Li Jiabao)

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