Research On Questions Of Law For "Appropriate Countermeasures" In The Field Of Prohibited Subsidies

The World Trade Organization(WTO) was founded in 1995, which meant that the global multilateral trade system had reached a new stage of development. The voice of continue reform the WTO system is much stronger. The disadvantages of poor effect in the GATT era has been modified, which made WTO dispute settlement system be of judicial power and more effective. The prevailing members have right to seek retaliatory measures against those losing members who do not fulfill their obligations. Then the losing members may propose an arbitration to determine whether the retaliatory measure is legal. After several years of operation, however, WTO dispute settlement system has continuously brought disputes. In the meantime, the retaliatory measures in the case of prohibited subsidies caused many of the problem and uncertainty, such as the problem of the level of countermeasures. According to article 4.10 and article 4.10 of Agreement of Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, in this paper, the writer will study the legal issues involved in the arbitration of the level of "appropriate measures", combining with the WTO rules and the related cases.This paper, except the conclusion, comprises five parts with the total part of over 42000 words. The first part is introduction which inclusions the research review on "appropriate countermeasures". The term "countermeasures", based on the international law cases, first aroused people’s concern. And then the term "countermeasures" used by the International Law Commission in the Draft Articles on State Responsibility. The term "countermeasures" was defined in the Draft, by contrast, it is not sure the meaning in WTO law. The term "appropriate" was used in the GATT era for dispute settlement mechanism, but it was abandoned in DSU and finally settled in the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Settling disputes quickly and effectively is the purpose of WTO dispute settlement.And the purpose of retaliation mechanism is faced with the dilemma of rebalancing the rights and obligations and promoting the implementation of adjudication, which brings dispute to the purpose of special retaliation system in SCM agreement. It is also not clear to the meaning of "appropriate" in the existing literature.The second part is talking about the rules of "appropriate countermeasures", including subsidies international legislative process and the SCM agreement in the Uruguay round. The first section of this part discusses about the remedies of prohibitive subsidies in the SCMagreement and the regulation of the "appropriate" countermeasures. The second section of this part analyses the rules about "countermeasures" including the history and the definition of "countermeasures". It is clear that the meaning of "countermeasures" on the international law may apply to the WTO law.The third part analyses the legal issues of appropriate countermeasures by discussing judicial cases, the argument of WTO arbitrators. Then writer points out the problems existing in the practice and the dilemma in accordance with comparing the views on appropriate countermeasure of the arbitration ruling.The forth part combines the analysis of rules in the second part and the analysis of case in the third part in order to define "countermeasures" in retaliatory procedures of Prohibited Subsidies and clarify the legal standard of "appropriateness",finally make the rules of“appropriate countermeasures” clear.The fifth part proposes the legal thinking and suggestions when China responses to the "appropriate countermeasures" of prohibited subsidies. This part, firstly, compares the rules of prohibited subsidies in SCM agreement with China’s regulations on subsidies. Then, this section uses these differences to put forward some suggestions. Secondly, this part summarizes cases of prohibited subsidies related to China and puts forward the strategies when China faces the case of appropriate countermeasures.