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Trade news from a sustainable development perspective
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WTO Panel Upholds Australia Plain Packaging Policy for Tobacco Products

Volume
22,
Number
24
-
5 July 2018
WTO Dispute Settlement

WTO Panel Upholds Australia Plain Packaging Policy for Tobacco Products

5 July 2018
A WTO dispute panel said last week that Australia’s plain packaging policy for tobacco products is in line with global trade rules, following years of litigation between Canberra and four countries over the measure’s legality. The case was filed by Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and...
Global Economy

WTO Members Question US on Section 232 Autos Probe, Warn of Growing Risks From Metal Tariffs

5 July 2018
The US’ duties on imported steel and aluminium, as well as an ongoing investigation on whether automobile imports also pose a national security risk, took centre stage during a meeting of the WTO’s Goods Council in Geneva this week. Dozens of members questioned the US on what these could mean for...
China

China Government Paper Touts Country’s WTO Performance, Domestic Reforms

5 July 2018
China’s State Council published a “white paper” last week outlining how Beijing’s involvement in the WTO has facilitated domestic economic reforms while also contributing to multilateralism and the performance of the global economy. The paper’s release comes shortly before a biennial WTO review of...
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)

RCEP Trade Ministers Set End-2018 Target for “Package of Outcomes”

5 July 2018
The top trade officials from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) coalition have pledged to endorse a “package of outcomes” by the end of the year, in a bid to help wrap up nearly six years of negotiations. “At this point in time, we have a reached a stage where we are very near,...
Development

Five Years After Rana Plaza Disaster, Trade Officials Review Sustainability Compact Results

5 July 2018
Officials from governments, international agencies, and other stakeholder groups recently examined Bangladesh’s efforts to improve worker safety and labour rights, over five years after a devastating accident that killed or injured thousands of garment factory workers and fuelled a high-profile...
NAFTA

US President, Mexican President-Elect Consider NAFTA Next Steps

5 July 2018
Mexico’s left-wing presidential candidate, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, won national elections on Sunday 1 July, setting the stage for the Morena Party leader to take office in December. The result, which was widely expected, has fuelled questions over what this will mean for the timeframe of the...
Energy

Australian Government Debates New Energy Policy, Considers Role of Coal

5 July 2018
Australian lawmakers are in the process of negotiating the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) policy , which was proposed in 2017 in response to energy cost concerns in the Oceanic nation. Proponents say that the NEG could answer concerns over energy affordability, reliability, and emissions...

Events

5 July 2018
Coming Soon 9-13 July, Rome Italy. COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES (COFI) 2018. The 33 rd session of the Committee on Fisheries, under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), will convene for a week of meetings in July. Topics covered include progress on implementing the Code of...

Resources

5 July 2018
INVESTOR-STATE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT (ISDS): REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS IN 2017. Published by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) (June 2018). This International Investment Agreement (IIA) Issues Note reports on treaty-based ISDS developments in 2017, including case outcomes and arbitral...