China, EU join 19-member temporary global trade dispute system, but US, UK, Japan, India not included

Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) took effect last week after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) appeals body ceased to function in December

System also includes Canada, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay

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The appeal body of the World Trade Organisation ceased to function on December 11. Photo: Reuters

Published: 4:59pm, 4 May 2020Updated: 9:48pm, 4 May 2020

China has joined 18 other members including the European Union, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong in launching a temporary system for trade disputes at the World Trade Organisation, with the agency’s appeal body having ceased to function in December after the United States blocked appointments of new judges to the top trade court.

The new system, which took effect on Thursday, also includes Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Iceland, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Switzerland, Ukraine and Uruguay, according to a statement published by China’s Ministry of Commerce.

However, other major trading powers, including the US, India, Britain, Japan and South Korea, are not part of the group officially known as the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), showing the limitations of its real power to resolve major global trade disputes.

“The new arrangement is aimed to preserve the essential principles of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute settlement system and any WTO member is welcome to join at any time,” said a joint statement from the group.

The new system is designed to preserve the principle enshrined in international trade law that governments have the right to appeal in any dispute

European Union

The MPIA was developed in just over three months, after the members announced at the World Economic Forum in January that they would seek to form a new body to work around the demise of the regular WTO panel.

“The countries [in the MPIA] argue that the new system is designed to preserve the principle enshrined in international trade law that governments have the right to appeal in any dispute,” the European Union said in a statement.