News Excerpt: 

In a report published by the economic think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), reinstating a fully functional WTO dispute settlement body to resolve trade disputes between countries could take longer than expected as there continue to be wide differences between developed and developing countries over the issue.

Highlights of the report:

• Protectionism has been on the rise due to the lack of a functional dispute settlement body as the US, since 2017, has been blocking the appointment of new judges to the WTO’s seven-member appellate court as it believes that the body is hurting its interest.
• GTRI said that balancing India’s demands for an appellate body, S&DT (special and differential treatment) provisions, and fairness while addressing other members’ concerns, including transparency and legal certainty, will require significant compromise and negotiation.
• According to GTRI, reaching a consensus on reform of the dispute settlement system is complex, with developed and developing countries holding different priorities and concerns.
• The proper functioning of the WTO Appellate Body has a disproportionate impact on the United States because more than one-quarter of all disputes at the WTO have been challenges to US laws or other measures. 
• The United States Trade Representative (USTR) in its report had pointed out that up to approximately 90 percent of the disputes pursued against the US have led to a report finding that the US law or other measure was inconsistent with WTO agreements. 
• This means that, on average, over the past 25 years, the WTO has found a US law or measure WTO-inconsistent between five and six times per year, every year.

Update on past article (19 Jan): No farm issues until food stocks issue is resolved: India before WTO talks