Казахский Гуманитарно-Юридический Университет

Казахстан г. Астана

Егембердиева Асель

THE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES IN THE WTO: FUNCTIONING AND ISSUES

Today integration into world’s economic structure is one of the main issues ahead of new independent states (NIS). WTO entrance regarded by state’s governments as a concern in international division of labour, trade development and raising investments.

“Open trade” policy is necessary for Kazakhstan that has small inner market and is in need of access to booming world markets.

Aim of entry into WTO is to gain certain advantages.

For Kazakhstan it is:

- integration into world economy, assistance of its development, automatic membership of “most favored nation” regime equally with all WTO members; [1]

- also Kazakhstan will have contemporary and beneficial transit roads for its goods. Especially it’s important for developing outer by domestic goods of manufacturing industry;

- in brief, entrance of Kazakhstan, from the point of raising investments it’s formerly concerns manufacturing industry and development of hi-tech production;

- by entering in WTO, Kazakhstan can count on gaining the right of participation of working up the world trade regulation standards that will be guided by national interests; [2]

- there will be access to information about governments’ and participating countries outer economic policy and purposes that will lead to more effective trade policy;

- creating of conditions for increasing quality and competitiveness of national product in the result of extension new technologies, goods, service and investment in inner market and introduction of international quality standards; [3]

-because of import expansion, consumer can gain access to the wide range of goods by lower prices.

However, the main advantage of Kazakhstan’s entrance into WTO is the possibility of usage of effectively functioning in WTO dispute resolutions mechanism and this fact cannot be denied.

One of the key factors that exerts intensity of realization trade disputes in GATT/WTO is the interests of world market’s “players”. As we see on table 1, leaders of the quality of defending initiating cases are USA and EU, which are on the various stages of examination. In general, from 1995 there were initiating 4 disputes. Table 2 illustrates certain disputes that took place in different periods of time between EU and USA.

Table #1 Rating of the most active countries, participating in trades’ disputes (01.01.2014)

Members	The number of initiating cases	Members	The number of defending cases
USA	103	USA	119
EU	87	EU	73
Canada	33	China	29
Brazil	26	Argentina	21
Mexico	23	India	22
India	21	Canada	17
Argentina	18	Japan	15
Japan	16	Brazil	14
South Korea	15	South Korea	14
Thailand	13	Mexico	14

Source: composed according to the official site of WTO

Table #2 Some disputes between European Union and United States of America (01.01.2014)

Заявитель - ответчик	Основание жалобы
USA - EU	duties on imports of grains
USA - EU	customs classification of certain computer equipment
EU-USA	the Cuban liberity and democratic solidarity act
EU-USA	tariff increases on products from the European Communities
USA - EU	measures affecting the exportation of processed cheese
EU-USA	anti-demping measures on imports of solid urea from the former German Democratic Republic
EU-USA	measures, affecting government procurement
EU-USA	tax treatment for «foreign sales corporations»
EU-USA	harbour maintenance tax

Source: composed according to the official site of WTO

In particular, in new edition of agreement were suggested some modifications and additions concerning next issues: [4]

- broadening of 3rd countries' rights in dispute;

- preparation of prior reports by appeallate organ;

- possibility of direction from appeallate organ to arbitral groups and arbiter to recurring examination of case;

- improvement of regulations concerning application measures by the results of dispute examination, including the issue of compensation;

- consolidation of special and varied regime for developing countries on the different srages of dispute examination;

- acceleration of certain kind of disputes’ examination procedure;

- improvement of arbitral group’s members election procedure;

- strengthening control by WTO members of arbitral group’s and appeallate organ reports.

In general plan, EU had supported USA’s ideas.

Sources:

1. Official site of WTO;

2.«Kazakhstan’s WTO accesion» - [e-source] – URL: http://www.edgekz.com/kazakhstans-wto-accesion-providing-gateway-world/ (13.01.2015);

3. «Accession of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the World Trade Organization (WTO» - [e-source] – URL: http://kazakhstan-geneva.ch/accesion-of-the-republic-of-kazakhstan-to-the-world-trade-organization-wto (13.01.2015);

4. WTO Dispute settlement Undrestanding: a detailed interpretation / Bryan Mercurio, Guohua Yang, Yongjie Li – 2005.