By Shannon Togawa Mercer

The world of international institutions is abuzz with conversation about the conviction of Radovan Karadzic. On March 24, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) convicted the former President of Republika Srpska, and Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb army, for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Radovan Karadzic will serve 40 years of imprisonment for his crime. At his age, the 40 year sentence could very well translate to a sentence for life. This conviction represents more than justice for those impacted by the horrific Srebrenica massacre and other acts of ethnic cleansing. In a world in which the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold Library in New York announced that its most popular book of 2015 was “Immunity of Heads of State and State Officials for International Crimes,” this is, on its face, a reminder that former heads of state are not untouchable. Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, the United Nations human rights chief, explained the verdict as “a forceful manifestation of the international community’s implacable commitment to accountability.”

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April 11, 2016

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

Poland’s new president, Andrzej Duda, recently visited Washington to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. During his visit, President Obama declined to meet him, an action that gave rise to much discussion. Washington has previously expressed concern over the new government’s anti-democratic bent. American diplomats, in a visit earlier this year, conveyed to Polish government officials that they expected the new government to reverse recent moves impinging on the power of the Polish judiciary. Secretary of State John Kerry has referred to the recent creep of authoritarianism as one of Poland’s “internal challenges.” The party in power, Law and Justice, has been accused of stacking Poland’s highest court. Notable Polish TV news host, Tomasz Lis, has publically stated that any criticism against the new ultra-conservative government is unwelcome: “If you express criticism then you are the enemy and you have to be destroyed.” This course change, in a country which had taken a promising democratic turn after the Cold War, could be yet another unneeded burden on the already strained and destabilized European Union.

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April 08, 2016

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

Davos, the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, concluded on Saturday, January 23. Trade ministers attending Davos took advantage of it as a forum to discuss pertinent trade issues. This year, Davos happened little over a month after the WTO’s tenth ministerial conference. According to the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), ministers at Davos discussed the importance of WTO negotiations, the conclusions of the 10th ministerial conference, and vestigial issues from the earlier ongoing Doha Round negotiations. ICTSD also reports that trade ministers present at Davos discussed the state of the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA).  United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman, commented that negotiating parties “had an opportunity to support further progress” in the negotiations at Davos.

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February 04, 2016

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be signed in New Zealand this week, marking the end of a long and complicated negotiation process. After signing, each party has up to two years to complete their respective domestic ratification processes. In the political climate leading up to this year’s Presidential elections, the conditions of ratification are uncertain. Some high-level support for the free trade agreement has recently come down the pipeline. Most notably, President Obama implored U.S. legislators to ratify the TPP in his last state of the union address. Underscoring the potential for TPP to open markets to America, he said, “With TPP, China does not set the rules in that region. We do. You want to show our strength in this new century? Approve this agreement…It’s the right thing to do.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has also come out in support of the agreement, citing World Bank statistics predicting that the FTA will increase each members’ GDP by 1.1% by 2030. Despite these two important endorsements, many do not see the TPP in a favorable light. Democratic Presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders have been vocally opposed to treaty. The Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested that the vote wait until after November’s general election. Despite the signing this week, the TPP is still staring down a long road of domestic debate.

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February 03, 2016

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

The 26th session of the U.S. – China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), held in Guangzhou, China, concluded on November 23. The JCCT conference came amidst tension over the South China Sea and not long after the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (potentially a sore-spot for the excluded Chinese). That said, some small strides were made toward addressing long-standing concerns of both parties. Amongst many discussed topics, intellectual property protection (trade secret policies, online counterfeiting, geographical indication-related measures) and China’s Anti-Monopoly Law stood out. While others, such as a potential U.S.-China bilateral investment treaty, were more notable in their omission. Despite the tempered progress of trade policy negotiations, trade between the U.S. and China continues to grow. The Wall Street Journal reports that two-way trade between the countries amounted to $590 billion in 2014. Chinese data also reflects growth, showing an increase of 2.4% in the first ten months of 2015.

If you’re curious, you can access the USTR’s fact sheet on specific outcomes here.

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December 07, 2015

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

The WTO Appellate Body recently supplied us with a new development in the ever-interesting string of U.S.-Tuna trade decisions. After the appellate body’s 2012 ruling against a U.S. measure, in what is affectionately known as U.S. – Tuna II (Mexico), the U.S. was tasked with bringing its measure into conformity with WTO obligations. The Appellate Body recently reviewed U.S. revisions and found them lacking.  Some background: In 2009, Mexico challenged a U.S. “dolphin safe” labeling scheme before the WTO. The U.S. measure only allowed the “dolphin safe” label to be placed on canned tuna sold in the United States that was not the product of a suspect tuna fishing method called “setting on dolphins.” That said, the regulation only required certification of dolphin safety in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) region, functionally allowing all tuna caught by outside of the ETP to carry the dolphin safe label.  The Appellate Body took issue with the regulation under the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) agreement Article 2.1: First, the labeling measure had “a detrimental impact on the competitive opportunities of Mexican tuna products in the U.S. market” given that the majority of Mexican fishermen fished in the ETP; secondly, the regulation did not “even-handedly” address the risks to dolphins “arising from different fishing techniques in different areas of the ocean.” After this decision, the U.S. revised the US Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act and implementation regulations with a new substantive requirement that other tuna products outside of the ETP get captain certification that “no dolphins were killed or seriously injured.” Vessels in the ETP are still required to provide higher levels of certification and more cumbersome documentation. The WTO found that the amended measures continue to violate the non-discrimination requirements of the TBT agreement.  

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December 04, 2015

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

In an era during which the exchange of intellectual property across borders can carry just as much, if not more, value than conventional goods, the protection of intellectual property rights is now a matter of international concern. Whereas much of the WTO treaty regime is focused on the liberalization of trade barriers for goods and services, the protection of intellectual property rights through the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement involves affirmative obligations to restrict the flow of ideas in order to protect the rights of an individual to his or her intellectual property.

It makes sense that an organization of nations interested in trade liberalization would concern itself with the movement of ideas: adequate protection of intellectual property can impact trade flows. If a seller knows that her ideas will not be pirated in a purchasing country, she will be more encouraged to sell there. Furthermore, if an innovator knows that he will reap the profits from his inventions, he is more likely to innovate – thus incentivizing businesses’ R&D.

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November 20, 2015

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

Ukraine invoked the WTO dispute resolution process on October 21 through a request for consultation to challenge Russian restrictions on imports of Ukrainian railway equipment. Since the suspension of “conformity assessment certificates” for railway products imported from Ukraine in 2013, Ukraine asserts that Russia has effectively banned said imports. While it is unlikely that any love will be lost between the two nations in the case of protracted WTO adjudication, one source reports that Ukraine expects to settle during the 60-day consultation window. This is the sixth WTO complaint to be brought against Russia since its accession three years ago.

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November 09, 2015

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

On October 25, an influential Communist Party newspaper stated that China should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at the appropriate time given that the TPP’s aims align with China’s economic reform agenda, Reuters reports. As The Summit’s Alex Yeager reported, China is not party to the TPP, leading some to speculate that the agreement is intended to reduce regional dependence on China’s economy. Some of the terms of the agreement de facto preclude China’s membership, most notably government procurement standards that would change the way Chinese SOEs operate and electronic commerce liberalization. The recent Chinese newspaper release sends a measured message: that China should pay “close attention and at an appropriate time, in accordance with the progress on domestic reform, join the TPP, while limiting the costs associated to the greatest degree.” At the same time, China continues to cultivate its own trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), to create a 16-country free trade zone. This leaves us asking, will China show up to the TPP party at all? And if so, is it better late than never?

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November 05, 2015

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

In his Saturday address to the United Nations General Assembly, Cuban President, Raul Castro, highlighted the continued detrimental impact of the U.S. Trade Embargo. Castro estimated an aggregate $121 billion in damages to the Cuban economy. While President Obama has taken steps to liberalize trade, only Congress can lift the embargo. The U.N. General Assembly has urged the U.S. to end the embargo on an annual basis since 1992, when it adopted a resolution expressing its disapproval. The General Assembly isn’t alone. Companies such as Cargill, Proctor & Gamble, Caterpillar, Shell Oil and Chevron are lobbying Capitol Hill for further liberalization. Surprisingly, of all the horses in this race, Arkansas’ is chomping at the bit. Governor Asa Hutchinson, in anticipation of the decreased trade barriers and availability of financing opportunities, hopes to increase Arkansas’ agricultural exports to Cuba. He travels to Cuba today as a part of a trade mission.

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October 14, 2015

By Shannon Togawa Mercer

USTR General Council Tim Reif was appointed to the position of Chief Transparency Officer on Thursday. The position was created this summer under the trade promotion authority law, in order to facilitate more transparency between the USTR and Congress. While most members of Congress applaud the appointment, Rep. Lloyd Dogget (D-Texas) voiced concerns that Reif will only become a bureaucratic barrier between the legislature and the agency. Citing the recent denial of his request for congressional access to the current Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement text, Doggett predicted more obstruction from the USTR. Doggett is, however, a lone voice in the wilderness. Many of his colleagues, including Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) all support Reif’s appointment.

More on Reif here.

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September 08, 2015