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Bangkok Post
13 hours ago
- Business
- Bangkok Post
WTO at 30 after decades of challenges
When I sat down to write an article "WTO at 10" for a commemorative book for the occasion in 2005, little did I know of the huge challenges the WTO and the multilateral trading system would have to confront in the following two decades. During its first decade in existence, the WTO basked in a mood of cautious optimism as its membership continued to expand and the process of globalisation was in full swing, also helped by the launch of the Doha Development Agenda and the joining of China in December 2001. The impact of China's WTO accession on the Chinese economy itself and on the global trading system has been unprecedented, part of which I have elaborated in my co-authored book (2002) with Mark Clifford on China and the WTO: Changing China, Changing World Trade. During its first ten years, the WTO stood the test not only arising from the Asian financial crisis (1997-98), the massive protests at the third Ministerial Conference (MC) in Seattle in 1999, but also some sensitive and high-profile dispute settlement cases. The crisis-hit countries in Asia could find their way out of the predicament, not least because the rest of the world kept its markets open and absorbed their exports. Their current accounts became more balanced, and trade has proved itself to be a powerful remedy, more so than the counterproductive conditional IMF standby support. In the meantime, the WTO's dispute settlement system has functioned as a remarkably efficient and effective mechanism for resolving trade conflicts between WTO members. Emeritus Professor Giorgio Sacerdoti, an international law professor at Bocconi University in Milan and former member of the Appellate Body offered in a book on the contribution of the dispute settlement system this comment: "The past ten years show the vitality of the dispute settlement system as had been envisaged, as well as its central position within the WTO as an element capable of ensuring respect of agreed rules." Although the Cancun Ministerial Conference in 2003 could not advance the Doha Agenda, it significantly marked the emergence of developing countries as active participants in the negotiation process. They have become serious demandeurs, witnessing their joint group approaches, their consistent push on Special and Differential Treatment (SD&T) proposals, support for LDC accessions, and, most importantly, the technical assistance initiatives through the Aid for Trade programme, enabling developing countries to meet international standards and access global markets. The introduction of cotton as a specific commodity for negotiation at Cancun, with my consistent support, also helped to focus on an item of major export earnings for several LDCs in Africa. Like several other negotiation issues, cotton, SD&T, and Trade-Related Intellectual Property Agreement (Trips) and its public health flexibilities would gain more traction going into the second decade of the WTO. WTO discussions on cotton took up two tracks: one on trade aspects and another on development assistance to raise productivity and enhance its value chain. Agreement was reached at the 2015 Ministerial Conference to prohibit the use of export subsidies and call for a further reduction in domestic support for cotton products. Since the launch of the SD&T negotiations in 2001, the issue continues to be discussed at several ministerial meetings, with only a ministerial declaration to be adopted at the 13th Ministerial Conference in 2024 as the first outcome ever made on agreement-specific proposals applicable to all developing countries. On Trips and public health, progress was made before the Cancun Ministerial to create flexibilities in using compulsory licensing beyond serving only domestic markets, but also allowing export of medicines to countries in need. This Trips amendment carries a humane face to WTO agreements in that countries with no manufacturing capacities in the pharmaceutical sector can now do parallel importing of the necessary medicines to deal with domestic health problems. This extension was given full legal effect in 2017 and further clarified at the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference in 2022 in order to support equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Although the Doha Agenda could not be brought to an end in the WTO's second decade, another significant milestone was achieved in the form of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), coming into force in 2017. This agreement facilitates the harmonisation of export and import processes, resulting in the speeding up of the movement, release, and clearance of goods, including those in transit. According to the WTO World Trade Report 2024, the implementation of the TFA has led to a substantial increase in trade, with agricultural trade among developing economies increasing by 16 to 22%. The book The WTO at Twenty: Challenges and Achievements, published in 2015, concludes that the WTO has achieved much over its first 20 years, but the success of the WTO has inevitably given rise to new challenges. Indeed, the challenges came through thick and fast in the WTO's third decade. Multilateralism has come under threat as geopolitical polarisation began to take hold while the Doha negotiations dragged on with no end in sight. As trade tension grew between the US and China, the global trading system stuttered with rising uncertainty exacerbated by a growing number of trade restriction measures. Environmental concerns also contributed to border regulations that put more restraints on normal trade flows, such as carbon taxes and border carbon adjustment measures. The Appellate Body that has been an effective mainstay of the WTO's dispute settlement system (DSS) has been disabled since December 2019 due to the US blocking the appointment of new judges. With no appeal quorum, the enforceability of WTO rules is rendered impossible. Some alternatives to the existing system have been raised, such as the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MP/A) with limited applicability. The US blocking has come with its concerns about the Appellate Body's interpretation of WTO rules, which has led to proposed reforms of the system, claiming the body's overstepping of its mandate. This US blocking is somewhat ironic, considering that the US has been the most prolific user of the DSB and gained positive rulings on a majority of complaints. When I was at the WTO, I made attempts to resort to arbitration as a means of dispute resolution. Now again we see this proposal being brought forward, recognising the possibility of applying "expeditious arbitration" under Article 25 of the DSU. As the WTO moves into its fourth decade, it needs to prepare itself to counter an extremely disruptive period in the world trading system. US President Donald Trump's 'liberation day' tariff hikes and subsequent retaliations or submissions are unprecedented and unpredictable. While the US will remain one of the world's most significant markets, its share in the world trade volume may gradually decline, while the share of South–South trade will continue to expand. But this chaotic situation should not really benefit anyone, and whether it will help to narrow the US trade deficit remains to be seen. The essential role of the WTO as the guardian of the rules-based trading system will be more needed than ever before. In the words of the late Cuban president Fidel Castro, as spoken to me when I was at the WTO: "The world needs the WTO to bring order to this chaotic world." In order to face up to this existential threat, the WTO must be able to seriously reform itself before it's too late. I fully concur with WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in her strongly prodding the members to agree on 'deep and thorough' reform proposals for the 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé, Cameroon, next year, to ensure the WTO's relevance. First and foremost are the reforms of the DSU to entice the US back into the system, which needs to be simplified and easily accessible. This could lead to subsequent WTO-backed orderly discussions and negotiations to bring back the wayward tariffs into an acceptable configuration. In the meantime, the WTO may intervene to bring relief to the low-income developing countries injured by the tariff hikes. The chair of the General Council has been conducting informal consultations with the membership to ensure the impact of tariff escalations and to thrash out some joint actions to deal with the crisis. The process can help pave the way for focusing on the key reforms at the MC 14. In view of all these ongoing efforts, I do have full respect and confidence in the management of the WTO with the pragmatic collaboration of the membership to successfully preserve and strengthen the rules-based trading system we all need. Time will tell whether the disruptive emergence of unprecedented tariff escalations will prove to be highly costly to all economies of the world and will ultimately fail to serve the corrective purposes they were intended for. Supachai Panitchpakdi is a veteran Thai politician and former director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as a former secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Daily Mail
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump's EPA boss moves to erase Biden's green agenda
President Donald Trump 's administration issued a radical proposal that would dramatically reshape climate policy and undo much of Joe Biden's green agenda. The plan from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin would revoke a scientific finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to the public. 'This has been referred to as basically driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion,' Zeldin told the Ruthless podcast in describing his move. He's targeting an Obama-era regulation called the 'endangerment finding,' which is the legal basis for most EPA climate rules, including limits on power plant and vehicle emissions. 'They created this endangerment finding and then they are able to put all these regulations on vehicles, on airplanes, on stationary sources, to basically regulate out of existence, in many cases, a lot of segments of our economy. And it cost Americans a lot of money,' Zeldin said. 'Repealing it will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America,' he added. Then-President Biden used the finding as a basis for many of his regulations on fossil fuels, which included restrictions on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, stricter regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The Trump administration's plan to revoke the rule must go though a lengthy review process, including public comment, before it is finalized, likely next year. Environmental groups are likely to challenge the rule change in court. If finalized, repeal of the endangerment finding would erase current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants and other sources and could prevent future administrations from proposing rules to tackle climate change. Zeldin called for a rewrite of the endangerment finding in March as part of a series of environmental rollbacks announced at the same time in what he said was 'the greatest day of deregulation in American history.'' A total of 31 key environmental rules on topics from clean air to clean water and climate change would be rolled back or repealed under Zeldin's plan. Zeldin called the endangerment finding as 'the Holy Grail of the climate change religion' and said he was thrilled to end it 'as the EPA does its part to usher in the Golden Age of American success.'' The EPA also is expected to call for rescinding limits on tailpipe emissions that were designed to encourage automakers to build and sell more electric vehicles. Transportation, including cars and trucks, makes up 29 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA proposal follows an executive order from Trump that directed the agency to submit a report 'on the legality and continuing applicability' of the endangerment finding. Conservatives and some congressional Republicans hailed the initial plan, calling it a way to undo economically damaging rules to regulate greenhouse gases. But environmental groups, legal experts and Democrats said any attempt to repeal or roll back the endangerment finding would be an uphill task with slim chance of success. The finding came two years after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling holding that the EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Environmental groups also slammed Zeldin's move. David Doniger, a climate expert at the NRDC, accused the Trump administration of using potential repeal of the endangerment finding as a 'kill shot´´ that would allow him to make all climate regulations invalid.
Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump's energy boss dramatically erases Biden's entire billion-dollar green agenda
President Donald Trump 's administration issued a radical proposal that would dramatically reshape climate policy and undo much of Joe Biden 's green agenda. The plan from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin would revoke a scientific finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to the public. 'This has been referred to as basically driving a dagger into the heart of the climate change religion,' Zeldin told the Ruthless podcast in describing his move. He's targeting an Obama-era regulation called the 'endangerment finding,' which is the legal basis for most EPA climate rules, including limits on power plant and vehicle emissions. 'They created this endangerment finding and then they are able to put all these regulations on vehicles, on airplanes, on stationary sources, to basically regulate out of existence, in many cases, a lot of segments of our economy. And it cost Americans a lot of money,' Zeldin said. 'Repealing it will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America,' he added. Then-President Biden used the finding as a basis for many of his regulations on fossil fuels, which included restrictions on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters, stricter regulations on methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, and initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The Trump administration's plan to revoke the rule must go though a lengthy review process, including public comment, before it is finalized, likely next year. Environmental groups are likely to challenge the rule change in court. If finalized, repeal of the endangerment finding would erase current limits on greenhouse gas pollution from cars, factories, power plants and other sources and could prevent future administrations from proposing rules to tackle climate change. Zeldin called for a rewrite of the endangerment finding in March as part of a series of environmental rollbacks announced at the same time in what he said was 'the greatest day of deregulation in American history.'' A total of 31 key environmental rules on topics from clean air to clean water and climate change would be rolled back or repealed under Zeldin's plan. Zeldin called the endangerment finding as 'the Holy Grail of the climate change religion' and said he was thrilled to end it 'as the EPA does its part to usher in the Golden Age of American success.'' The EPA also is expected to call for rescinding limits on tailpipe emissions that were designed to encourage automakers to build and sell more electric vehicles. Transportation, including cars and trucks, makes up 29 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA proposal follows an executive order from Trump that directed the agency to submit a report 'on the legality and continuing applicability' of the endangerment finding. Conservatives and some congressional Republicans hailed the initial plan, calling it a way to undo economically damaging rules to regulate greenhouse gases. But environmental groups, legal experts and Democrats said any attempt to repeal or roll back the endangerment finding would be an uphill task with slim chance of success. The finding came two years after a 2007 Supreme Court ruling holding that the EPA has authority to regulate greenhouse gases as air pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Environmental groups also slammed Zeldin's move. David Doniger, a climate expert at the NRDC, accused the Trump administration of using potential repeal of the endangerment finding as a 'kill shot´´ that would allow him to make all climate regulations invalid.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
India witnesses renewed spurt in oil and gas exploration: Petroleum Minister Puri
India is witnessing a renewed surge in oil and gas exploration, particularly in offshore regions, underscoring the country's vast untapped hydrocarbon potential, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told the Parliament on Tuesday. Puri in Rajya Sabha stated that the opening of nearly one million square kilometres of erstwhile 'No-Go' offshore areas in 2022 has been a landmark development. This move has unlocked significant exploration frontiers, especially in deepwater and frontier regions such as the Andaman-Nicobar (AN) offshore basin, and has been instrumental in triggering the current momentum in offshore activity, the Minister stated, according to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category others healthcare Technology Finance Data Analytics Project Management Leadership MBA Digital Marketing Management Public Policy Data Science Data Science MCA Others Cybersecurity Operations Management CXO Healthcare Product Management Degree Design Thinking PGDM Artificial Intelligence Skills you'll gain: Duration: 16 Weeks Indian School of Business CERT - ISB Cybersecurity for Leaders Program India Starts on undefined Get Details Since 2015, Exploration and Production (E&P) companies operating in India have reported 172 hydrocarbon discoveries, including 62 in offshore areas, he said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like New Container Houses Indonesia (Prices May Surprise You) Container House | Search ads Search Now Undo The Minister highlighted the geological significance of the Andaman-Nicobar basin, which lies within the Bengal-Arakan sedimentary system. He stated that the tectonic setting located at the boundary of the Indian and Burmese plates has led to the formation of numerous stratigraphic traps that are conducive to hydrocarbon accumulation. Live Events This geological promise is further amplified by the basin's proximity to proven petroleum systems in Myanmar and North Sumatra, he added. The region has attracted renewed global interest following significant gas discoveries in South Andaman offshore Indonesia, underlining the geological continuity across the region, he stated. While the favourable geology sets a strong foundation, Puri emphasised that the real breakthrough has come from the government's strategic policy interventions and a new exploration approach. "The revised strategy has enabled aggressive acquisition of seismic data, initiation of both stratigraphic and exploratory drilling, and increased engagement with international exploration partners, several of whom have shown keen interest in the newly accessible frontier blocks," the Minister added. Puri said that the national Oil Companies have planned to drill four offshore stratigraphic wells, including one in the AN basin. "These scientific wells are designed to test geological models, validate the existence of petroleum systems, and help de-risk future commercial exploration. Although commercial accumulations have not yet been confirmed, these efforts mark a major step forward in systematic and knowledge-driven hydrocarbon exploration," he added according to the Ministry's release. In a significant development, ONGC and Oil India Ltd (OIL) have launched an ambitious exploration campaign in the Andaman ultra-deepwater region. For the first time, drilling operations are targeting depths of up to 5000 metres. Providing an overview of the exploration outcomes so far, the Minister informed that ONGC has made hydrocarbon discoveries in 20 blocks, with an estimated reserve of 75 million metric tonnes of oil equivalent (MMTOE). OIL, on its part, has made seven oil and gas discoveries over the past four years, with reserves estimated at 9.8 million barrels of oil and 2,706.3 million standard cubic meters of gas. Referring to the Hydrocarbon Resource Assessment Study (HRAS) of 2017, which estimated the AN basin's hydrocarbon potential at 371 MMTOE, the Minister stated that a 2D broadband seismic survey covering approximately 80,000 Line Kilometres (LKM) of India's Exclusive Economic Zone, including the AN offshore region, was completed in 2024. Additionally, OIL acquired 22,555 LKM of 2D seismic data during the Deep Andaman Offshore Survey conducted in 2021-22. Several promising geological features have emerged from this data, which are now being validated through ongoing drilling campaigns by ONGC and OIL, Puri added in his reply.
Gulf Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Gulf Today
The quiet Obamacare overhaul needs a loud reveal
The unprecedented cuts to Medicaid in President Donald Trump's tax bill rightfully garnered headlines in recent months. After all, the latest estimates from the Congressional Budget Office predict some 10 million people eventually will lose their public insurance. But attention now should turn to the less visible ways his policies are undermining the Affordable Care Act. Instead of the full-blown attack on the ACA waged in his first term, when Trump tried — and failed — to repeal the law, he is letting crucial parts of it wither on the vine, and millions of Americans will be affected while potentially not even realising who is to blame. Some will log in to sign up for care in 2026, only to discover their plan has gotten a lot more expensive — and an estimated 4.2 million of them will risk going uninsured because of it. Others will never know they could have had affordable insurance, because the government will make far less of an effort to advertise its existence. 'It's a stealth sabotage,' says Benjamin Sommers, a physician and health economist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 'Many folks won't even see the small print that led to that outcome.' Enrollments for marketplace plans soared under the Joe Biden administration. That was largely due to two things: enhanced subsidies, which made insurance more affordable for a broader swath of the population, and an incredible outreach effort to help people find and enroll in policies. Both helped bring the number of uninsured people in the US to an all-time low in 2023, and by the end of Biden's term, a record-breaking 24.2 million people bought coverage through the government. That's more than twice the number of people who accessed plans under Trump's last watch. This time around, his administration is quickly unraveling both factors underpinning that progress. The biggest impact will come from an anticipated spike in the cost of federal or state-run marketplace plans as the government takes away extra subsidies that make them affordable. The ACA has always included tax credits that vary based on someone's income, but they got a lot more generous under the Biden administration. Since 2021, those additional benefits made it cheaper for people to buy insurance while also expanding the number of people who qualified for help. Coverage was suddenly within reach for many more Americans — in fact, four out of five enrollees qualified for a plan that cost as little as $10 per month. Trump's new tax bill allows those subsidies to expire at the end of this year. A recent analysis by the nonpartisan health care group KFF gives a snapshot of what that could mean for consumers. It found that out-of-pocket premiums will go up on average by 75% — and people in at least a dozen states could see those fees double or more. Retaining marketplace insurance will cost a typical family of four living on $65,000 per year an additional $2,400, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. While the overall burden on families is rising, insurers themselves are also going to charge more for their plans. Just how much more is starting to come into view as marketplace providers begin to publish their proposed rates, which they file to state regulators each summer. KFF found that among the insurers reporting to states, expiration of the enhanced tax credits is attributed to an average 4% increase in premiums next year. That would primarily raise costs for the people who buy marketplace coverage, but don't qualify for subsidies, Sommers explains. The insurers' reasoning? Without subsidies, they say fewer healthy people will sign up for plans, leaving them to cover a larger proportion of sicker people (who ostensibly use more health care). The likely expiration of the enhanced benefits isn't the only way that the Trump administration is undermining Obamacare accessibility. The president is also making it harder to know about and sign up for a marketplace plan. Within weeks of taking office, he slashed the budget for navigators, the ACA experts who help the public wrestle with their insurance options, by 90%. Meanwhile, he has shortened the window during which people can sign up for coverage and is expected to repeat a trick from his last term, when he decimated the budget for advertising the open enrollment period. Those aren't just nice-to-haves. Sommers led a recent study published in the National Bureau of Economic Research that found affordability is not enough — people need to be able to easily sign up for a plan, too. He found that the same subsidy offered under the Biden administration resulted in a 30% greater decrease in the uninsured population compared to the Trump regime. The difference? A federal push to help people understand when they are eligible and guide them through the process of finding coverage.
