Going Bananas: A Glimpse into WTO’s Dispute Settlement Mechanism

Abstract

The paper seeks to comment on the efficiency and fairness of the World Trade Organization by examining its Dispute Settlement Mechanism. The study has attempted to achieve the same by focusing on the legal and economic analysis of ‘The European Communities – Regime for Importation, Sale and Distribution of Bananas Case’, a landmark judgement in the Dispute Settlement Body’s history that spanned two decades. The paper has analysed trade data from 1993-2016 to arrive at its conclusions and infer the legal rationale behind the verdict while scrutinizing the sectoral as well as overall economic impact of the case on the parties to the dispute.

Countermeasures under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures: Between the Aircraft Manufacturing Industry and Society

“…127 Briefly, the US submitted this case since the EC imposed a tariff quota of 2 million tonnes for the imported bananas from Latin American countries and non-traditional African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. 128 The EC also gave preferential treatment for the 'former colonies' under the same scheme known as the Common Market Organization. 129 This scheme was inconsistent with the WTO rules.…”