RIETI Policy Symposium

Quo Vadis the WTO? The Future of the Doha Round and the Management of the International Trade Regime

Announcement

Due to the stalemate in the Doha Round, now well into its sixth year, debate has persisted for quite some time on the systemic issues facing the World Trade Organization (WTO). When WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy last summer declared an indefinite suspension of the Doha Round talks it appeared that the difficulties had grown insurmountable. Fortunately, the talks have resumed from the beginning of this year. Mr. Lamy has sought extensively for a breakthrough in the stagnated negotiations, urging the key WTO members to show leadership. Also, momentum is emerging, particularly among key members, for seeking convergence toward the final outcome of the negotiations. Nevertheless, there is still no foretelling the outcomes from this summer and beyond.

The stalemate in the Doha Round implies deficiency in the "legislative" function of the WTO (the function of negotiating and making new trade rules). This calls for other means to maintain and manage the international trade regime. First, when the WTO rulemaking process hits a snag, a situation emerges where the negotiations for or under regional trade arrangements (RTAs), which are rapidly proliferating, may become an alternative system for the promotion of trade liberalization. On the other hand, within the WTO system, when new rules become difficult to formulate via negotiations, the WTO members will have to instead manage the regime through a quasi-judiciary dispute settlement process.

One of the aims of this symposium lies in assessment of these alternative measures for management of the international trade regime. In Part I, focusing on the "legalization" of RTAs, we will discuss issues including: To what extent has the "legalization" of RTAs been making progress relative to that of the WTO? Could a new regional system or systems replace the WTO system? When the new system operates side by side with the current multilateral trading system, does it not pose certain interface problems (such as conflicts with the WTO non-discrimination principles and jurisdictional issues)? In Part II of the symposium, referring to the rulemaking function of the WTO dispute settlement system, arguments will be presented on questions including: Could the multilateral trading system be maintained solely by means of recourse to dispute settlements, without making any new rules? Would this not inevitably mean judicial lawmaking or judicial activism by the Appellate Body? Has the Appellate Body earned enough confidence from WTO member governments and other stakeholders that it can be trusted with such authority?

On the other hand, while the management of international trade policies based on dispute settlement procedures that substitute rulemaking and market-opening negotiations at the WTO or the management of such policies under a regional regime is useful in certain aspects, ultimately revitalizing the rulemaking function of the WTO system is the way to solve the real issues including the development dimension of the multilateral trading system. In Part II, we will invite experts from Japan, the EU, India, and the WTO Secretariat, examine interactions between results of the dispute settlement and the round negotiation, and find ways to bring the Doha Round negotiations to a successful conclusion soon in order to draw useful and practical policy proposals for better management of the international trade regime.

At the symposium, we are looking forward to sharing views on the status quo of the trade regime and need for promotion of the Doha Round with the audience as well as with trade law and policy experts in Japan and from abroad. We hope this will promote increased awareness among the Japanese public on these important issues.

Information

  • Time and Date:
    9:45-17:55, Monday, August 6, 2007
  • Venue:
    Aso-no-ma Room, Tokai University Kouyu-Kaikan , 3-2-5 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (33rd floor of Kasumigaseki Building)
  • Language:
    Japanese / English (with simultaneous interpretation)
  • Charge: 1,000 yen (an official receipt will be issued)
  • Hosts: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)
  • Contact: RIETI
    Ms. Tomoko Kase
    Tel: 03-3501-8398 Fax: 03-3501-8416

* Handouts pertaining to the symposium will be available for download from the RIETI website after the event.

* Purpose of Use of Images

Agenda (subject to change)

Symposium Chair: TANIMOTO Toko (Web Editing Manager, RIETI)

9:45-9:50 Opening Remarks

FUJITA Masahisa (President and Chief Research Officer, RIETI / Professor, Konan University / Adjunct Professor, Institute of Economic Research, Kyoto University)

9:50-10:05 "Introduction: The Status Quo of the International Trade Regime"

KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)

10:05-12:15 Part 1 "Regional Economic Integration as an Alternative Regime: 'Legalization' of RTAs and Interface with the WTO"

Session Chair: ARAKI Ichiro (Professor, International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University)

10:05-10:25 Presentation "Legal Review of FTA Tariff Negotiations"

KIM Jong Bum (Associate Professor, KDI School of Public Policy and Management)

10:25-10:45 Presentation "Dispute Settlement Procedures"

KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)

10:45-11:05 Presentation "Intellectual Property Rights"

SUZUKI Masabumi (Professor, Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University)

11:05-11:25 Presentation "Trade in Services (Mode 4)"

TOJO Yoshizumi (Professor, College of Law and Politics, Rikkyo University)

11:25-11:45 Presentation "Japan's EPA/FTA Policy"

TANAKA Shigehiro (Director for FTA Affairs, Economic Partnership Division, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)

11:45-12:15 Q&A

12:15-13:20 Lunch (buffet-style)

13:20-17:50 Part 2 "The Role of the WTO in the Future Trade Regime"

13:20-14:20 Session 1

Session Chair: KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)

13:20-13:40 Presentation "Current State of the Doha Round as Seen from the WTO Secretariat"

S. Bruce WILSON (Director, Legal Affairs Division, WTO)

13:40-14:00 Presentation "Dispute Settlement Process and Trade Liberalization Negotiations: Lessons from the Uruguay Round"

ARAKI Ichiro (Professor, International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University)

14:00-14:20 Presentation "A Stakeholder's View: The Importance of the WTO for the Japanese Industry"

KINBARA Kazuyuki (Director, International Economic Affairs Bureau I, Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren))

14:20-14:35 Coffee Break

14:35-15:35 Session 2

Session Chair: ARAKI Ichiro (Professor, International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University)

14:35-14:55 Presentation "European Approach toward International Trade Regimes"

Marco C. E. J. BRONCKERS (Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)

14:55-15:15 Presentation "Where Do We Go from Here ? an Indian Perspective"

Anwarul HODA (Member, Planning Commission, Government of India)

15:15-15:35 Presentation "Why WTO Doha Round Matters"

HIROSE Naoshi (Director, Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)

15:35-15:50 Coffee Break

15:50-17:50 Panel Discussion

Session Chair: KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)

15:50-16:10 Wrap-up Comments: "The Doha Round and its Significance on the Future Trade Regime"

KOTERA Akira (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)

16:10-17:10 Panel Discussion

KOTERA Akira (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)

S. Bruce WILSON (Director, Legal Affairs Division, WTO)

Marco C. E. J. BRONCKERS (Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP)

Anwarul HODA (Member, Planning Commission, Government of India)

HIROSE Naoshi (Director, Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)

17:10 - 17:50 Q&A

17:50 - 17:55 Closing Remarks:

OIKAWA Kozo (Chairman, RIETI)

*Remarks by Mr. S. Bruce Wilson are strictly off the record and NOT for quotation.
*Agenda is subject to change