Building an Effective New Round of Wto Negotiations: Key Issues for Canada
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HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE NEW ROUND OF WTO NEGOTIATIONS: KEY ISSUES FOR CANADA Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade Jean Augustine, M.P. Chair Mac Harb, M.P. Chair Sub-Committee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment May 2002 The Speaker of the House hereby grants permission to reproduce this document, in whole or in part for use in schools and for other purposes such as private study, research, criticism, review or newspaper summary. Any commercial or other use or reproduction of this publication requires the express prior written authorization of the Speaker of the House of Commons. If this document contains excerpts or the full text of briefs presented to the Committee, permission to reproduce these briefs, in whole or in part, must be obtained from their authors. Also available on the Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire: http://www.parl.gc.ca Available from Public Works and Government Services Canada — Publishing, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9 BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE NEW ROUND OF WTO NEGOTIATIONS: KEY ISSUES FOR CANADA Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade Jean Augustine, M.P. Chair Mac Harb, M.P. Chair Sub-Committee on International Trade, Trade Disputes and Investment May 2002 STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE CHAIR Jean Augustine VICE-CHAIRS Stockwell Day Bernard Patry MEMBERS Sarkis Assadourian Stan Keyes Hon. George Baker Francine Lalonde Aileen Carroll Hon. Diane Marleau Bill Casey Keith Martin Rick Casson Pat O’Brien John Duncan Pierre Paquette John Harvard Svend Robinson Marlene Jennings CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Stephen Knowles FROM THE RESEARCH BRANCH OF THE LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT James Lee Gerald Schmitz iii SUB-COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE, TRADE DISPUTES AND INVESTMENT CHAIR Mac Harb MEMBERS Bill Casey Pierre Paquette Rick Casson Svend Robinson Mark Eyking Bob Speller Pat O’Brien Tony Valeri OTHER MEMBERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE STUDY Stéphane Bergeron Francine Lalonde Bernard Bigras Wendy Lill Antoine Dubé Gary Lunn John Duncan Pat Martin Ivan Grose Yves Rocheleau CLERK OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE Mike MacPherson FROM THE RESEARCH BRANCH OF THE LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Peter Berg Michael Holden Jay Sinha iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Sub-Committee’s work would not have been possible without the excellent cooperation and insight of the witnesses and government officials who appeared before it. We were also extremely well served by our excellent staff, including our clerk, Mike MacPherson and the research team of Peter Berg, Michael Holden and Jay Sinha. To all these we express our appreciation. Mac Harb, M.P. Sub-Committee Chair v THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE has the honour to present its NINETEENTH REPORT In accordance with its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), your Committee established a sub-committee and assigned it the responsibility of an in-depth study for the Assessment of WTO negotiating issues from a Canadian perspective. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................xiii INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................1 THE WTO AND ITS BENEFITS ....................................................................................5 A. Brief History of the WTO.......................................................................................5 B. Benefits of Trade Liberalization ............................................................................ 7 C. Growth in World Trade.......................................................................................... 9 D. Importance of Trade Liberalization to Canada.................................................... 10 KEY WTO NEGOTIATING ISSUES ............................................................................ 12 TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT................................................................................. 12 A. Background............................................................................................... 12 1. The Relationship Between Trade Liberalization and Development ..... 12 2. Development Issues at the WTO......................................................... 13 B. The Doha Development Agenda............................................................... 14 1. Major Development Issues in the Doha Declaration............................ 15 (a) Market Access..............................................................................15 (b) Special and Differential Treatment................................................ 18 (c) Trade-Related Technical Assistance ............................................ 19 (d) TRIPS and Public Health .............................................................. 20 C. Special Considerations for Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) ............... 22 1. Tariff-Free, Quota-Free Market Access............................................... 23 DISPUTE SETTLEMENT ......................................................................................... 29 A. Background............................................................................................... 29 ix B. Key Issues Surrounding the Dispute Settlement Mechanism ................... 31 1. Compensation vs. Retaliation as a Response to Panel Reports ......... 31 2. Clarifying the Guidelines Governing Implementation of WTO Rulings................................................................................................. 33 3. Consultation vs. Litigation.................................................................... 35 4. Panel and Appellate Body Composition and Procedures .................... 36 5. Transparency and Accessibility ........................................................... 38 6. Participation by Developing Countries................................................. 41 ANTI-DUMPING, SUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES.................... 42 A. Background............................................................................................... 42 B. Developments at Doha ............................................................................. 43 C. The Canadian Perspective........................................................................ 43 AGRICULTURE ........................................................................................................ 44 A. The Insanity of Agricultural Protection ...................................................... 44 B. Previous WTO Action on Agriculture ........................................................ 45 C. Doha and Agriculture ................................................................................ 47 D. Key Issues from a Canadian Perspective ................................................. 49 1. Removal of Export Subsidies............................................................... 50 2. Large-Scale Reduction in Domestic Support....................................... 51 3. Market Access ..................................................................................... 52 4. Food Safety ......................................................................................... 55 SERVICES................................................................................................................ 56 A. Background............................................................................................... 56 B. The WTO and Services ............................................................................ 56 C. Views on the Canadian Position on Services............................................ 57 x CULTURE................................................................................................................. 59 INVESTMENT AND COMPETITION POLICY .......................................................... 61 A. Investment ................................................................................................ 61 1. The Importance of Investment and Investor Protection....................... 61 2. The WTO and Investment ................................................................... 62 3. Developing a Canadian Position.......................................................... 63 B. Competition Policy .................................................................................... 65 TRADE AND ENVIRONMENT.................................................................................. 66 A. Background............................................................................................... 66 B. Developments at Doha ............................................................................. 68 1. New Negotiations................................................................................. 69 (a) Multilateral Environmental Agreements ........................................ 69 (b) Trade in Environmental Goods and Services................................ 71 2. Ongoing Environmental Discussions ................................................... 74 (a) Environmental Labelling Requirements ........................................ 74 (b) Identification of “Win-Win” Scenarios............................................ 74 3. Environmental Concerns in Other Aspects of the Doha Declaration .......................................................................................... 75 TRANSPARENCY AND OUTREACH....................................................................... 76 A. Background..............................................................................................