Sherzod Shadikhodjaev

Renewable Energy and Government Support: Time to ‘Green’ the SCM Agreement?

Many governments provide subsidies to shift from ‘dirty’ but cheap fossil fuels to ‘clean’ but expensive renewable energy. Recently, public incentives in the renewable energy sector have been challenged through both dispute settlement procedures of the World Trade Organization and domestic countervailing duty investigations. One may expect that trade frictions in this field will intensify over time. This article argues that the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures – a multilateral trade treaty on subsidization and anti-subsidy measures – should be revised to give more policy space to national authorities in implementing their low-carbon programmes. The Appellate Body made a few climate-friendly interpretations in Canada – Renewable Energy/Canada – Feed-In Tariff Program. It is now members’ turn to carry out meaningful rule-making reforms. This article explores some ways to ‘green’ the existing disciplines.

India—certain measures relating to solar cells and solar modules

In a proceeding that challenged the domestic content requirements (DCRs) of Indias solar energy program, the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) upheld the panel determination that the Indian governments measures violated its international obligations. The decision offers new insights into certain exceptions for environmental policies under the multilateral trading system and elaborates on the relevance of other international legal regimes to the compliance issue under WTO law. Further, it has the potential to increase export opportunities of many countries in the Indian renewable energy market.

The Russian Trade-Remedy System: Peculiarities and Future Prospects

Since its 1993 application for membership in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT, now the World Trade Organization, or WTO), Russia has enacted several legal instruments to adapt to WTO trade-remedy rules. Russia’s 2003 Trade-Remedy Law largely reiterates WTO rules; it also, however, contains certain provisions that clarify ambiguous language used in the WTO agreements, that set forth either stricter or looser standards, or that introduce new elements that do not exist in the current multilateral trade agreements. In addition, some peculiarities can also be found with respect to institutional and practical aspects of the Russian trade-remedy system. Furthermore, it is expected that this system will undergo certain transformations under a planned customs union involving Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

Indirect Subsidization Under WTO Disciplines: Financial Contribution to One Entity, Benefit to Another

Indirect subsidization of domestic industries can occur where, for example, a financial contribution is provided to one entity but the associated benefit goes to another. This may materialize where (1) a financial contribution to an upstream producer results in a benefit to a downstream producer, or (2) privatization of a subsidized state-owned enterprise leads to the transmission of the subsidy to a post-privatization enterprise. A number of dispute cases initiated in the World Trade Organization have addressed both situations and resulted in substantial jurisprudence that cast light on some controversial issues on indirect subsidies. This paper examines the main findings made in case law, discusses subject-related Doha Round proposals and their possible implications for Korea.