The World Trade Organization: Case DS 160, Music in bars

Résumé du document

The WTO (World Trade Organization) succeeded the GATT (General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade) on January 1, 1994. The main purpose of the WTO is to supervise and liberalize the international trade. Countries have to become members of this international organization to take advantage of the previous agreements but have to follow its rulings. We will shortly explain how the WTO enforces its rulings and we will analyze a precise case of settlement. The case we choose to analyze is the following: music in bars, DS 160. We will examine which country is involved in this dispute and why, and if there are some third parties and what their interests are. Finally, we will analyze the ruling of the WTO and conclude accordingly.

Extraits

[...] The WTO can decide an anti-dumping law in this case. The forbidding of the subventions for exportation allowed by States to their enterprises (exoneration of tax fees ) The forbidding of non tariff barriers which are hindrance to free trade. The ruling of the WTO The WTO is an international organisation which rules the international trade. In order to rule properly, it disposes of a power of settlement, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). In order to assure this power and it efficiency that the GATT didn't really have, the members of the WTO agreed on the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) in 1994. [...]

[...] To refer a matter to WTO DSB, the complainant has to first start consultations with the incriminated country in order to find a solution. If after consultations, no answer is founded, the complainant has to ask for a panel build-up: the WTO accepts or not this request. The panel consists into designated experts for checking the trade law and finding a real default in the application of the law in the incriminated country. They have 6 months to submit the report to the parties and after to the WTO members. [...]

[...] The WTO is not a court of justice but a way of mediation between two opposed countries: countries stay sovereign and solve their own conflict. The WTO is here to propos its help in arbitration in case of disagreement but does not propose an adjudication because priority is to settle disputes, not to pass a judgement”[10] Sources Clés des relations internationales, R. Séroussi, Nathan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_e.htm http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/utw_chap3_e.pdf http://www.wisegeek.com/in-law-what-is-a-third-party.htm http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_roy_and_lic_fee_pay_bop_cur_us- fees-payments-bop-current-us General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Trade Related Investment Measures From Clés des relations internationales, R. [...]

[...] The WTO has a much bigger role as an arbitrator than as a court of justice. We saw that even if the US was really over the “reasonable period of the WTO didn't take any measure of punishment against this country. The WTO was built in order to succeed to the GATT which was inefficient in dispute settlement but we saw that the WTO isn't really better: of course, cases don't stay so long but in the case DS 160, the settlement was reached on time but nothing is done in order to implement this ruling and actually countries found a “temporary” settlement. [...]

[...] The World Trade Organization: Case DS 160, Music in bars Summary Introduction I. The WTO Structures of the WTO The way of ruling II. The actors involved in case DS 160 The European community The US The third parties III. The ruling The content Remarks Conclusion Sources Introduction The WTO (World Trade Organisation) succeeds to the GATT (General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade) on January, 1st The main purpose of the WTO is to supervise and liberalize the international trade. [...]