Stephanie Switzer

EU biofuels policy - raising the question of WTO compatibility

This article examines the question of the compatibility of the new EU Biofuels regime with the disciplines established by the WTO. After an explanation of the evolution of the Biofuels regime, the authors consider whether that regime is compatible with the rules on subsidies established by the WTO Agreement on Agriculture and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Thereafter the authors assess the compatibility of the regime with the national treatment provision of the GATT, Article III. Concluding that there may be an incompatibility with the latter, the authors conclude by suggesting the need for international negotiations on the liberalization of trade in Biofuels and more especially on the issue of the sustainability of Biofuel production, an issue that lies at the heart of the changes made recently to the EU Biofuels regime.

International trade law and the environment: Designing a legal framework to curtail the import of unsustainability produced biofuels

Discussions on the appropriate international regime to govern trade in biofuels are in their infancy. However, a large number of countries have set minimum blending targets for biofuels. Meeting these targets will require greater production and increased international trade in biofuels. Concerns exist as to whether unsustainable practices will be used to satisfy this growing demand. There is currently no multilateral agreement governing sustainable production and trade in biofuels. In the absence of an international framework, this paper will seek to demonstrate that concerned countries may unilaterally regulate imports of unsustainably produced biofuels in a way that is consistent with international trade rules. Unilateral regulation is to be understood as a stop gap until multilateral agreement can be reached on the interaction between trade in biofuels and issues of sustainability.

Environmental protection and the generalized system of preferences : a legal and appropriate linkage?

This article will question the legality of measures of environmental ‘conditionality’ in the Generalized System of Preferences [GSP] of the European Community [EC]. The GSP is a GATT/WTO authorized scheme which permits developed nations to grant non-reciprocal tariff preferences in favour of developing countries. The objectives of the GSP are primarily development-oriented in that it aims to increase the export earnings of developing countries, promote their industrialization and accelerate rates of economic growth. A recent case taken in the WTO examined the legal contours of the grant of tariff preferences and it is in the light of this that this article will examine the so-called ‘special incentive arrangements’ of the reformed EC GSP which offers additional tariff preferences to developing countries on the ‘condition’ that they adhere to specified standards of environmental protection.

A contract theory approach to special and differential treatment and the WTO

Purpose This paper is prompted by the dissatisfaction of developing countries regarding the grant of special and differential treatment (SDT) under the legal framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). As a result of such dissatisfaction, the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations explicitly called for a review of such treatment with a view to making it more precise, effective and operational. This mandate has not yet been met to the satisfaction of many developing countries. This paper aims to provide an alternative way of examining and evaluating the contestation which exists regarding SDT in the WTO. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses the conceptual framework provided by the economic contract theory and in particular, the concept of the incomplete contract to provide a scaffold for analysing SDT. This approach is intended to offer insights beyond those elucidated so far in the literature on the topic. Findings This paper, by using an economic contract theory approach, finds that SDT is constructed as an incomplete contract. Furthermore, the suboptimal outcomes associated with incomplete contracts are apparent in the constitution of SDT. This finding is useful in both an evaluative and programmatic sense, providing us with an alternative entry point to explain some of the shortcomings with SDT, as well as garnering us with a useful conceptual tool to think upon how SDT can be improved. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature on SDT within the WTO in particular and differential treatment in international law in general. Drawing on literature on the WTO as an incomplete contract, the paper provides an original frame for analyzing SDT and draws attention, in particular, to the utility of the economic contract theory as a programmatic and evaluative frame for SDT and differential treatment more generally.

Footloose and fancy free: state aid after Brexit

There is a perception in certain quarters that EU state aid law acts as a barrier to the UKs ability to pursue an effective industrial policy. Indeed, while the level of state aid provided by the UK is low, members of the current UK government and Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn have framed the EU state aid regime as potentially limiting the UK’s ability to support British business. The UKs decision to leave the EU has thus led some commentators to opine that Brexit will allow the UK to provide greater support to domestic industry. This article evaluates to what extent, if any, Brexit could provide the UK with greater autonomy to grant state aid.

European Union biofuels policy: Past, present and future?

This chapter explores in more detail the move away from biofuels produced from food crops. It analyses the current proposals for reform of the EU Renewable Energy Directive [RED] and questions the coherence of certain elements of this policy direction. It cautions that any amendment to the RED which supports the use of advanced biofuels should take into account the complex interdependencies which exist between climate change and agricultural production.

Biofuels, food security and the WTO agreement on agriculture

Agriculture has been the unruly horse of the GATT/WTO system for a long time and efforts to halter it are still ongoing. This Research Handbook focuses on aspects of agricultural production and trade policy that are recognized for their importance but are often kept out of the limelight, such as the implication of national and international agricultural production and trade policies on national food security, global climate change, and biotechnology. It provides a summary of the state of the WTO agriculture negotiations as well as the relevant jurisprudence, but also, and uniquely, it focuses on the new and emerging issues of agricultural trade law and policy that are rarely addressed in the existing literature.