Category: WTO

How China Violated the WTO and Made Free Markets Less Free: Clyde Prestowitz

How did the Chinese regime become a world player? In what ways did the Chinese Communist Party flip the rules under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and make free markets less free? In this episode, we sat down with Clyde Prestowitz, president and founder of the Economic Strategy Institute and author of “The World Turned…


Australia: Taking China to WTO Over Wine Tariffs Enables Negotiations

MELBOURNE—Australia’s complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over China’s anti-dumping duties on wine exports should enable bilateral negotiations, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Sunday. The government filed a complaint on Saturday over duties that were applied last year and nearly wiped out exports of Australian wine to the Chinese market. “What lodging the…


Australian Prime Minister’s G7 Pitch for World Order Favouring Freedom

Commentary Before jetting off to the G7, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the USAsia Centre in Perth on June 9. His address entitled “A world order that favours freedom” is an ambitious attempt at demonstrating that “liberal democracies work” considering that, in many countries, freedom is an elusive or vanishing goal. Nevertheless, the prime…


Prime Minister Calls For ‘Cold War Cooperation’ and WTO Penalties Ahead of G7 Leader Talks

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on June 9 delivered a warning about the growing threat of conflict in the Indo-Pacific on the eve of his trip to the United Kingdom, where he will be a guest at the Group of Seven (G7) Plus meeting of world economic powers. In a significant foreign policy speech that alluded…


New Zealand to Back Australia’s WTO Barley Dispute with China

New Zealand’s Trade Minister Damien O’Connor has indicated the Ardern government will join Australia’s dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against China. The backing from New Zealand (NZ) came on the eve of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s visit to the country for high-level talks on a range of issues including a quarantine-free travel…


US to Launch Trade Talks on COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

WILMINGTON, Del.—The U.S. top trade negotiator will begin talks with the World Trade Organization on ways to overcome intellectual property issues that are keeping critically needed COVID-19 vaccines from being more widely distributed worldwide, two White House officials said Sunday. The White House has been under pressure from lawmakers at home and governments abroad to…


Pressure Mounts on Biden to Lift Vaccine Patents to Help Poor Nations

WASHINGTON—A group of progressive lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to temporarily waive intellectual property and patent rights on COVID-19 vaccines to provide “equitable access” to vaccination around the world. Opponents, however, call such proposals “unnecessary” and “misguided.” Several U.S. Senate and House members led by Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) together with more than a dozen health and…


Australia Eyes Second WTO Action Against China, This Time for Wine

Australia’s trade minister is considering whether to launch a second action against China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), this time to fight tariffs imposed on wine exports. It follows an ongoing WTO action over barley tariffs that was launched late last year by Australia. “One of the things we are very keen to do…


EU to Slap Carbon Tax on Australian Exports

The United Kingdom and the European Union (EU) may soon hit Australian exports with carbon tax policies designed to compel European trading partners to reduce emissions. On March 10, Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution to support a carbon tax, otherwise called the “carbon border adjustment mechanism” (CBAM). Details are to be presented…


Biden Administration Backs Nigerian Candidate to Lead WTO

WASHINGTON—The Biden administration announced on Friday that it would support the candidacy of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister, to lead the World Trade Organization, ending a months-long standoff at the organization. The announcement came after South Korea’s trade minister Yoo Myung-hee withdrew her candidacy, clearing the way for Okonjo-Iweala to be director-general of…