World Trade: Cancùn, Hong Kong and Beyond: A Review of Current WTO Regulations and Practice

At this critical stage in the Doha Round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, this authoritative report takes stock of the limited progress that has been made since the Ministerial Conference in Cancùn in September 2003. There is a detailed, critical assessment of what has actually happened and where the WTO stands after the Ministerial Conference of December 2005 in Hong Kong. The conclusions are stark, casting doubt on whether the target dates of April and July 2006 for agreeing modalities in agriculture and non-agriculture market access (NAMA) and submitting schedules of commitments in both areas are achievable. In spite of further bargaining sessions between various Ministerial groups in camera, little if anything has occurred since the beginning of the year to raise hopes that these deadlines may be met. The report brings readers up-to-date on some key revisions in WTO practice under these headings: Anti-dumping Regulations and Practices (with particular reference to EU Law); Resolving Trade Disputes in the WTO; Private Party Enforcement of WTO Law in the EC; Legal Context Mechanisms for Regulating Environmental Barriers to Trade within the WTO.