Comprehensive Research on International Trade System (Formerly known as "Comprehensive Research on WTO Subsidy Rulings")

2010

This project aims to analyze important current issues concerning international economic laws for Japan and is divided into the following three sub-project areas:

1. Comprehensive research on WTO Subsidy Rules
   This sub-project provides policy related analysis concerning the role of WTO Subsidy Rules in coping with enormous amounts of government aid in the wake of the financial crisis. We discuss possible exit strategies through countervailing duties and WTO dispute settlement procedures for the years following the provision of subsidies.

2. Research on ensuring implementation systems under a non-binding framework in the field of international public policy
   It appears that APEC, which was established under a non-binding international agreement between the governments of participating nations, will have difficulty in fully implementing the Bogor goals by the end of 2010--the target year set to achieve such goals. Since Japan is the host nation for APEC 2010, this sub-project aims to provide the Japanese government with a well-informed contribution concerning valuable policy proposals on new non-binding implementation systems under the post-Bogor regime.

3. Research on WTO dispute settlement cases
   Although the WTO Doha Round has stagnated, the WTO dispute settlement system has continued to function as an important tool to ensure market access. This sub-project studies and analyzes development of WTO case laws for the purpose of contributing to Japan's WTO legal strategy.

2008 - 2010

Subsidies are widely used throughout the world as a standard tool for the achievement of domestic policy goals. However, subsidies can create distortions in resource allocation as seen in the impact of export subsidies on international trade. For this reason, subsidies are subject to regulation under the WTO Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Agreement and Agriculture Agreement. Since the establishment of the WTO, more than 30 adjudications have been handed down on the issue of subsidies by WTO Panels and Appellate Body. Moreover, the number of subsidy-related disputes referred to the WTO is expected to increase with the expiration of provisions temporarily suspending the application of related agreements ("Peace Clause"). This project has the following three objectives: to research the interpretations and applications of relevant rulings made under the SCM Agreement and Agriculture Agreement; to examine the problems that may exist in the subsidy systems of Japan and Japan's major trading partners from the perspective of the WTO Agreement; and to gain insight into how Japan can develop its subsidy and countervailing duty systems while assuring compliance with the WTO Treaty.

January 22, 2008 - June 30, 2011