https://www.scmp.com/rss/509139/feed James Bacchus is senior fellow with the Centre for International Governance Innovation, adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute, professor at the University of Central Florida, and former chairman of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The most contentious international trade disputes are often about the safety of food. Japan and China seem about to prove this anew in their dispute over the blanket ban on seafood imports from Japan, imposed by China immediately after the Japanese began to release treated radioactive water from the defunct Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean. The outcome of their dispute could break important new ground in international trade law. Late last month, the Japanese government began... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3235043/wto-case-over-chinas-ban-japanese-seafood-would-reverberate-beyond-fukushima?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3235043/wto-case-over-chinas-ban-japanese-seafood-would-reverberate-beyond-fukushima?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:30:11 +0000 A global trade war about climate change is approaching, and it could make the current trade clash between the United States and China seem like a mere preliminary skirmish. To avoid extensive, widespread economic damage and help combat climate change, this looming new trade conflict must be prevented through a commercial ceasefire and multilateral negotiations. The US and the European Union have fired the latest salvo, indicating the approach of a conflict over trade-restrictive climate actions,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3155536/global-climate-trade-war-looming-heres-how-avert-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3155536/global-climate-trade-war-looming-heres-how-avert-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Nov 2021 17:30:10 +0000 The Covid-19 pandemic and vaccine development – as during the height of the HIV/Aids crisis in the 1990s – has brought to the forefront the debate within the World Trade Organization on the need to re-evaluate the balance of WTO intellectual property rules between exclusive ownership of new knowledge and broad public access. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, commonly called the Trips Agreement, was completed in 1994 with the negotiated balance stating... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3124717/how-access-covid-19-vaccines-has-highlighted-need-wto-rebalance-its?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3124717/how-access-covid-19-vaccines-has-highlighted-need-wto-rebalance-its?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 11 Mar 2021 01:15:10 +0000