Brazil requested dispute consultations with the U.S. at the World Trade Organization on Aug. 11 regarding the 50% tariffs that President Donald Trump recently imposed on Brazilian goods. Brazil said the measures are inconsistent with U.S. obligations under Articles I and II of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 and Articles 23.1 and 23.2 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).
Sri Lanka formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on Aug. 6, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 107. The WTO needs four more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
South Africa launched a safeguard investigation July 25 on flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloy steel, the nation told the World Trade Organization's Committee on Safeguards July 30. South Africa said interested parties must "make themselves known" within 20 days of July 25 and submit any information they wish by that date.
Jennifer Nordquist has been appointed to serve as the new deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization, replacing Angela Ellard who will step down at the end of August, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala announced on July 28. Nordquist, whose appointment is effective Oct. 1, currently serves as counselor on the Council of Economic Advisers at the White House. She previously served as executive vice president of the Economic Innovation Group, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, executive director for the U.S. at the World Bank Group, and chief of staff and deputy of economic studies at the Brookings Institution.
Argentina formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on July 22, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 106. The WTO needs five more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
The World Trade Organization's published its agenda for the Dispute Settlement Body's July 25 meeting. The meeting will feature U.S. status reports on the implementation of DSB recommendations on: antidumping measures on certain hot-rolled steel products from Japan; antidumping and countervailing measures on large residential washers from South Korea; certain methodologies and their application to antidumping proceedings involving China; and Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act. Status reports also are expected from Indonesia on measures related to the import of horticultural products, animals and animal products, and from the EU on measures affecting the approval and marketing of biotech products and on certain measures concerning palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels.
Arbitrators issued an award in the EU's dispute on China's enforcement of intellectual property rights under the World Trade Organization's Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). The arbitrators said that the EU showed that China has an anti-suit injunction policy for its courts and that parts of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) aren't confined to ensuring a patent owner's exclusive rights in each member's domestic legal system.
Zambia formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on July 14, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 105. The WTO needs six more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on July 11, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 104. The WTO needs seven more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.
Ghana formally accepted the World Trade Organization Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies on July 2, bringing the number of countries that have accepted the deal to 103. The WTO needs eight more countries to accept to get to two-thirds of the membership, the threshold for the agreement to take effect.