Reference no: EM132970129

The World Trade Organization is unlike most Intergovernmental Organizations in that it has the power to enforce its rules and decisions regarding disputes between member countries. According to the WTO website:

Resolving trade disputes is one of the core activities of the WTO. A dispute arises when a member government believes another member government is violating an agreement or a commitment that it has made in the WTO. The WTO has one of the most active international dispute settlement mechanisms in the world. Since 1995, over 500 disputes have been brought to the WTO and over 350 rulings have been issued.

Click on any country of interest in the map below to display the number of WTO disputes in which that country is a participant. Do you think that the Gravity Theory of International Trade is somehow reflected in the number of disputes?

Review the Dispute Settlement This link opens in a new tabprocess to gain an understanding of the complexity of the issues brought before the WTO. The range of dispute areas is wide as suggested in the following sample of cases.

From the above list of WTO cases, select a trade dispute and prepare an analysis that answers the following questions:

-Who is the complainant & respondent? Are these parties often a major source of WTO dispute activity? Why or why not?

-What is the source of the dispute?

-Is it apparent that the complainant and respondent country have a comparative or competitive advantage in the good or service at the source of the dispute?

-Who might be the domestic interest groups in each country who are the source of the dispute? Is there government involved lobbying the case to be brought to WTO?

-How long did it take to settle the dispute? Do you think the decision was reached in a timely manner?

-What was the final decision?