Law Clinics To Make WTO, Preferential Trade and Bilateral Investment Treaties Work for Everyone

Microsoft has proposed a Digital Convention on cyber security and this commentary seeks to evaluate the inputs made in the proposal and how these inputs could inform future efforts in the field of cyber governance. The first part of the research presents the Microsoft proposal, and the way in which some of the legal gaps that it highlights could be filled by existing international law principles. The second part underlines that the Microsoft proposal is relevant to the behaviour of States, not common criminals, in cyberspace, and it highlights that the private sector’s control of the technical infrastructure on which the internet operates is novel and thus central to the security discussion in cyberspace. The third part provides a description of the existing framework relevant to State behaviour in cyberspace, noting that the effectiveness of such framework is undermined by the voluntary and non-binding nature of States’ commitment to the norms that they propose The fourth part presents three case studies of cyber events, assessed in the light of the Microsoft’s proposal rules, and the 2015 UN GGE voluntary norms on Responsible State Behaviour in the Cyberspace. Lastly, the fifth part follows up on the Microsoft’s suggestion of a third-party entity that could serve key functions in cyber governance, as the next necessary step to achieve a more secure cyber environment. The commentary suggests that the starting point for the creation of such an entity could be a multi-stakeholder discussion around the Tech Accord, as cyber security is a concern that touches upon private and public interests together. <br> <br> <b> Authors: Francesca Casalini; Stefania Di Stefano; Fabiola Rosi (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva)</b>

This report presents a legal and economic analysis of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union (EU) and the East African Community (EAC), the EPA's relation to the rules of the WTO, and the implications of the UK’s departure from the EU on EAC LDCs-EU trade. It considers the obligations of EAC parties under public international law, the WTO, the EAC treaties and under the EPA itself. The report also assesses whether EAC members are currently under any obligation to ratify or implement the EPA, and, in its final chapter, presents an analysis of the UK’s continuing obligations to EAC Partner States after Brexit. The authors also offer a series of recommendations of how EAC LDCs may best approach the UK to secure their developmental and economic interests. <br> <br> <b>Marcus Gustafsson (Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.), Aakanksha Mishra (Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.), Hiram Jackson Kisamo (TRAPCA,Tanzania), and Robert Ssuuna (TRAPCA, Tanzania).</b>

Many countries have limited resources to develop anti-dumping policies, procedures and practices. This Memorandum aims to advise these countries on how to conduct cost-efficient, minimally burdensome anti-dumping investigations that are consistent with the Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA) and World Trade Organization (WTO) jurisprudence. The memorandum seeks to provide these countries with the tools to successfully impose an anti-dumping measure by also examining the policies, procedures, and practices of five other countries, namely the European Union (“EU”), the United States (“U.S.”), Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Advice is offered in two forms: (1) broader recommendations, contained in the body of the Memorandum; and (2) practical, step-by-step guidelines for key stages of an anti-dumping investigation, attached to the Memorandum. <br> <br> <b>Authors: Claire Schachter, Ragan Updegraff, and Anna Weinberger (Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, D.C.)</b>

This report seeks to legally arm the US government to pursue US interests vis-à-vis the UK and the EU (“Brexit Parties”), and to push trading priorities in negotiations under the auspices of the WTO. The report examines exactly how and when the US may assert its rights at the WTO and appropriately challenge existing trade remedy orders. It also explores the legal approaches by which the US would have valid bases to complain against the UK and the EU in the context of Brexit, which could be used as negotiating leverage. This report address the following topics: (1) tariffs; (2) agricultural tariff-rate quotas (“TRQs”) and agriculture measure of support (“AMS”); (3) government procurement; and (4) anti-dumping and countervailing duty (“AD/CVD”) orders. Authors: Jin Woo (Jay) Kim, Julia Kuelzow, Tom Strong

As the first step in the direction of encouraging a worldwide response, this Memorandum intends to raise global awareness of the significant problem that illicit trade represents. To that end, it will refer to the international instruments currently available to fight against this collective threat, making the inevitable conclusion that international regulation has not only been fragmented, but also insufficient vis-à-vis this subject-matter. As a second specific objective, it will also present the available tools to tackle the issue, incorporating this subject matter into the WTO’s framework. Intrinsically intertwined with this goal is the suggestion of a broad definition of “illicit trade”, which is specifically designed for its use at the WTO Authors: Santiago Díaz-Cediel, Hyomin Pak, and Erwin Prasetyo

This memorandum has been prepared in the context of the United Kingdom (UK) providing notice to withdraw from the European Union (EU), known as Brexit, and the implications of this on the provisional application of the EU – Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) , and on the United Kingdom (UK) negotiating and concluding new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Most recently, the EU and Canada have signed the CETA and the Parties to the CETA have agreed to provisionally apply parts of the Agreement in the future. This memorandum therefore examines whether the provisional application of the CETA will continue to apply to the UK after it withdraws from the EU. This memorandum also identifies the constraints on the UK in negotiating and concluding future FTAs with third countries from an European Union law and Word Trade Organization (WTO) law perspective. We define third country as a country other than an EU Member State. Authors: Ana Poienaru, Stefanija Savic, and Morgan McCabe

This memorandum is a redacted version of a confidential research paper on export restriction negotiations under the auspices of World Trade Organization (WTO). The complete version of this paper has two components: the first is a sketch of the existing legal framework and negotiation proposals on export restriction; the second is the provision of negotiation proposals. Due to confidentiality considerations, only the first component of analysis is publicly available and presented here. This memorandum is organized in three parts. The first part elaborates on the most relevant WTO treaties, namely the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT) and the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA). We discuss how the ambiguity of terms in these provisions poses challenges to effective disciplines on export restriction. Second, we analyze proposals from several WTO Members that seek to clarify the ambiguities or fill the void in the existing discipline. Third, we discuss regional trade treaties, including TTIP, CETA, and TTP, along with other less prominent WTO agreements. Authors: Bashayer Hassan Al Ahbabi, Maha Abdulaziz Al Shaikh, Maryam Abdulrahman Al Kaabi, Hanadi Abdulrahamn Al Habshi, and Sharouq Saeed Bawazir

This paper set out analysis and recommendations directed at defining the notions that are key to the ongoing negotiations on fisheries subsidies. It evaluates how these definitions or elements apply within the context of subsidy disciplines. Authors: Irina Chicu, Juan Carlos Herrera, and Ariane Vincent