"International trade principles: how to ensure better enforcement" by Jacques Bourgeois, Professor at the College of Europe. Presentation made at the Trade conference organised by Cerame-Unie on 26 November as part of the Ceramic Days 2013.

1. International trade principles: how
to ensure better enforcement
Jacques H. J. Bourgeois
Advocaat (Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr)
Professor at the College of Europe
Ceramic Days Trade Conference
Brussels, 26 November 2013

2. 2 questions to be addressed
I. Can the current legal instruments stop the
increasing trend in protectionist measures?
II. Is the European Commission using all
available instruments?
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3. I. Can the current legal instruments
stop the increasing trend in
protectionist measures?
1. Assumption: there is an increasing trend in
protectionist measures.
(a) obstacles to trade not necessarily =
protectionist measures
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4. (b) «visible increase» in import measures
in the period May 2012 – June 2013 as
compared to the May 2011 – May 2012
period
(European Commission 10th Report on
Potentially Trade-restrictive Measures,
1 May 2012 – 31 May 2013, p. 19)
(c) growing impact of «behind-the-border»
measures
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5. 2. Current legal instruments.
(a) at international (WTO) level
- well established rules on classical
protectionist measures
- rules on subsidies
internal
export
- «behind-the-border» partly inexistent,
partly insufficient
- enforceable through Dispute Settlement
Understanding
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6. (b) at EU level
- from time to time action in the WTO
against other WTO Members taking
measures that are not in compliance with
WTO rules – note that the European
Commission has its own agenda that
does not necessarily correspond to that
of companies
- TBR
complaint by company and/or industry
affected investigation by European
Commission resulting in 1 of 3 solutions
if solution 3, preliminary steps to be taken.
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7. II. Does the Commission use the
existing instruments sufficiently?
1. The WTO dispute settlement lever.
- Is a WTO dispute an «atomic bomb»?
- A substitute for adopting rules
2. TBR. As a possible way towards a WTO
dispute settlement.
- Notwithstanding the in-built limitations
- but extremely cautious use of the instrument.
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