Study On Retaliation Measures Under WTO Dispute Settlement System

In order to ensure the implement and execution of rulings and recommendationsby WTO dispute settlement body, provisions of Understanding on Rules andProcedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes establish three execution means:to withdraw the measures which are not in conformity with the WTO agreement,compensation and retaliation. The retaliation of which refers to “Suspension ofConcessions or Other Obligations” that is stipulated in Article22of Understanding onRules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes. Trade retaliation as thelast and the most powerful enforcement measures under WTO dispute settlementprocedures, improves the validity and reliability of the enforcement mechanism, andplay an important role in prompting timely and comprehensive performance of WTOrulings.The retaliation system under WTO is not a system innovation of WTO members,in contrary, it has profound legal basis and complicated evolution history. The firstchapter of this paper is mainly legal analysis of the retaliation system under WTO,through study on history of retaliatory system’s development and revolution, analysisof transformation process of the role which retaliation measures play, the authorconcluded that, the multilateral control system create the foundation of the legitimacyof retaliation system, which plays a positive role in maintaining the stability ofmultilateral control system. In the second chapter of this paper, the author analyzes the specific rules of theretaliation system under WTO, including study of the applicable scope, proceduraland substantive rules of retaliation measures, and comparative study of retaliationsystem. Through compare on retaliation systems under WTO and the North AmericanFree Trade Agreement, get deeper understanding of the legislative intent of theretaliation system under WTO, confirm advantage of retaliation system under themultilateral control system of WTO, and acknowledge the advantage of the NorthAmerican Free Trade Agreement on efficiency and flexibility of retaliation system.The third chapter focuses on problems arising in the practice of retaliationsystem under WTO. Through research on dispute cases of WTO which are related toretaliation process, analyzed defects of retaliation system which discovered in casesnot been effectively resolved, and put forward feasible improvement suggestionscorrespondingly.