Addressing tensions and avoiding disputes: Specific trade concerns in the TBT Committee

Kateryna Holzer

No ERSD-2018-11, WTO Staff Working Papers from World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division

Abstract: Most specific trade concerns (STCs), which are raised before the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Committee), disappear from the TBT Committee's meeting agendas without escalating into formal disputes. At the same time, a relatively small number of TBT-related disputes have been subject to the WTO dispute settlement procedures. By examining the practice of raising STCs and the relationship between STCs and disputes, the paper emphasises the role of STCs as a trade tension resolution mechanism. It argues that the STC mechanism is a viable alternative to the currently overburdened WTO dispute settlement system. The paper also suggests ways to strengthen the STC mechanism of the TBT Committee through dividing TBT Committee meetings into thematic sessions, adopting mediation procedures and reporting on STC resolutions. Further, it underscores the importance of increasing transparency and promoting good regulatory practice in avoiding disputes.

Keywords: specific trade concerns; technical barriers to trade; TBT Agreement; TBT Committee; trade disputes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F53 F55 K33 L15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-law
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:wtowps:ersd201811

DOI: 10.30875/09839801-en

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