Assessment Task

 

The Assessment Task

Please answer ONE of the following: In its decision in United States – Stainless Steel from Mexico the Appellate Body argued that ‘[e]nsuring “security and predictability” in the dispute settlement system, as contemplated in Article 3.2 of the DSU, implies that, absent cogent reasons, an adjudicatory body will resolve the same legal question in the same way in a subsequent case.’ (United States—Final Anti- Dumping Measures on Stainless Steel from Mexico, WT/DS344/AB/R, adopted May 20, 2008, para 160). Critically assess this standard, and its application by the Appellate Body, with specific reference to the recent criticism that the Appellate Body applies a de facto rule of precedent. Drawing on what you have learnt this term about the content of WTO law, write a critical response to the article (or some part of the article) by Nicolas Lamp that we read in the first week of the course (Lamp, ‘How Should We think about the Winners and Losers from Globalization? Three Narratives and their Implications for the Redesign of International Economic Agreements’, (2018)). ‘The golden thread running through WTO law is effective equality of competitive opportunities. Competitive equality is what the WTO seeks to protect above all, and that is as far as it should go.’ Discuss. Given the existence of the WTO Subsidies Agreement and Antidumping Agreement at the multilateral level, do you think there is a need for rules on those topics in (bilateral) free trade agreements between WTO Members? Support your answer with reference to the contemporary debate about the rules on state aid in the negotiation of a Free Trade Agreement between the UK and the European Union.