U.S. Government V. Chinese Government Domestic Support For Agriculture (DS511)

In recent years,with the universal recognition of China's market economy status,WTO lawsuits against China have gradually increased.In September 2016,the US State Department launched a lawsuit against China's domestic support through the WTO Secretariat.With the circulation of the Panel Report in February 2019,the case has now come to an end,but the theoretical and practical problems reflected in the case are thought-provoking.The author will analyze the controversial focus of the case with the holistic approach of treaty interpretation as the theoretical basis,and explore the path of China's domestic support policy reform and the way to respond to WTO lawsuits.In addition to the introduction and conclusion,this article is divided into four chapters.The first chapter mainly expounds the facts of China-Domestic Support for Agricultural Producers case.Firstly,the case background and progress are introduced.Secondly,the main content of the disputes in the case are introduced,and the two focus of the case are summed.The second chapter mainly analyzes the first controversial focus of China-Domestic Support for Agricultural Producers case-what's the panel's reference in this case.Based on the relevant provisions of the DSU and the opinions of the panel and the appellate body in the previous cases,the author analyzes the first focus of the case in detail and concludes that the terms of reference in this case are to review whether China's level of domestic support in favor of the producers of wheat,indica rice and japonica rice in 2012,2013,2014 and 2015 has breached Articles 3.2 and 6.3 of the Agreement on Agricultural.The third chapter mainly studies the second controversial focus of China-Domestic Support for Agricultural Producers case-whether China's AMS level has exceeded de minimis threshold.Based on the contents of the Agreement on Agricultural and its annexes,the author analyzes the focus by using the holistic approach of treaty interpretation,and finally concludes that China's AMS level has exceeded de minimis threshold,but Panel's calculation method is flawed.The fourth chapter mainly summarizes the enlightenment from China-Domestic Support for Agricultural Producers case.The author analyzes the the content of the US's written submission and the Panel Report.From the prospective of Chinese government,several suggestions are put forward to reform China's domestic support policy and adjust further WTO response strategies.