Five Years of China WTO Membership: EU and US Perspectives about China's compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism. Legal Issues of Economic Integration, Kluwer Law International, Vol. 33, No. 3, August 2006, pp. 263-304.

Five Years of China WTO Membership: EU and US Perspectives About China's Compliance With Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism

Paolo Davide Farah

Abstract

China's accession to the WTO represents a goal achieved after nearly fifteen years of exhausting negotiations. However, many legal, political and social problems have not yet been tackled in terms of achieving real implementation of WTO provisions throughout the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Protocol requires a general and deep application of transparency, which will radically influence and change the Chinese legal system. There are a wide range of transparency related problems such as the formal publication of laws and regulations, procedural fairness in decision-making, the judicial review and the non-discrimination principle. The special precautionary instrument, the Transitional Review Mechanism (TRM), was included in the Protocol of China's Accession to the WTO, as requested by the US and supported by the EU. The TRM has the objective of monitoring and enforcement of implementation of WTO commitments, promoting transparency and the exchange of information in trade relations with China. Bilateral engagements and multilateral forums are both essential to bring China into full compliance with its WTO commitments.
Full Paper
Paolo Davide Farah
Founder, President and Director

‍Professor Paolo Davide Farah is Founder, President and Director of gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives forSustainable Development, Associate Professor(with tenure) at West Virginia University, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences,John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics, Department of Public Administration and “Internationally Renowned Professor/Distinguished Professor of Law” (Full Professor level) at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU), Law School,Beijing, China.

Summary

China's accession to the WTO represents a goal achieved after nearly fifteen years of exhausting negotiations. However, many legal, political and social problems have not yet been tackled in terms of achieving real implementation of WTO provisions throughout the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Protocol requires a general and deep application of transparency, which will radically influence and change the Chinese legal system. There are a wide range of transparency related problems such as the formal publication of laws and regulations, procedural fairness in decision-making, the judicial review and the non-discrimination principle. The special precautionary instrument, the Transitional Review Mechanism (TRM), was included in the Protocol of China's Accession to the WTO, as requested by the US and supported by the EU. The TRM has the objective of monitoring and enforcement of implementation of WTO commitments, promoting transparency and the exchange of information in trade relations with China. Bilateral engagements and multilateral forums are both essential to bring China into full compliance with its WTO commitments.

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