The WTO faces an increasing burden of arbitrating trade disputes between WTO member states. The disputes are economically complex and often lead to rulings that require changes in Members' economic policies. This paper provides a positive and normative analysis of a previously unaddressed...

WTO arbitrators rely on economics to establish the permissible retaliation limits authorized by the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) which arguably serves to enforce the overall agreement. We examine how theoretical and quantitative economic analysis has and can be used in this stage of...

This study contributes to the debate concerning the appropriate role of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in in WTO dispute settlement. Its distinguishing feature is that it seeks to address this relationship in light of the reason why the parties have chosen to separate their...

Almost all WTO dispute panels exceed their statutory time limits. This is often seen to indicate a more general problem for panels to manage their tasks. The time required varies considerably across panels however, suggesting that they do not face the same problems. To shed light on these...

Our analysis covers 260 RTAs, of which 200 include at least one provision on TBT. We find that in general disputes on TBT provisions arising under RTAs are not treated differently from other type of RTA disputes. Fifteen per cent of RTAs with TBT provisions include provisions that apply...

Most specific trade concerns (STCs), which are raised before the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Committee), disappear from the TBT Committee's meeting agendas without escalating into formal disputes. At the same time, a relatively small number of TBT-related disputes have been...

The Appellate Body of the WTO has been in abeyance since December 11, 2019. The situation has been brought about by the US veto on filling up vacancies in the Appellate Body on account of its dissatisfaction withits functioning. Although WTO Members have been discussing proposals to set the...