Trade, Health, and the Burden of Proof in WTO Law

Trade, Health, and the Burden of Proof in WTO Law
Author: Joachim Ahman
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
Total Pages: 547
Release: 2011-12-05
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9041142916

Most of us do not immediately think of health protection measures as trade barriers. Yet to the trade liberalization interest they are often exactly that--"hidden protectionism" some would say. When the conflict between trade and health hardens into a confrontation, allocation of the burden of proof becomes the critical factor in determining the outcome. And the outcome of such a WTO dispute may affect a very large number of people. This important book examines the WTO provisions applicable to health protection measures from a burden of proof perspective, with an up-to-date and thorough analysis of all relevant case law. It clearly demonstrates and explains the following and more: how burden of proof decisions, following from the burden of proof concept as it has developed in national legal systems and in general international law, may favour or disfavor different interests; the problems that may occur when risk-related facts have to be proved;how the legal facts in the WTO provisions specifically regulating the adoption of health protection measures have been interpreted in case law; and how the burden of proof concept can be used to balance the conflicting interests in ways other than those used so far. No other source offers such a comprehensive analysis of WTO provisions applicable to health protection measures. This book's burden of proof perspective makes it an especially valuable resource for trade law experts, WTO member representatives, and interested NGOs seeking to understand and discuss the balancing of health protection and trade liberalization.

International Trade and Health Protection

International Trade and Health Protection
Author: Tracey Epps
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2008-01-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1848443870

This detailed and fully referenced text is a valuable resource both for practitioners and academics. Michael Blakeney, International Trade Law and Regulation Interspersing law with societal context, this volume by Dr Epps stands out among WTO analysis. The author offers a delightfully balanced view on the nature and origin of SPS measures (including references to history) whilst at the same time mastering the hard law of the SPS Agreement in detail. Practitioners will enjoy the detailed analysis of WTO dispute settlement. A reference book for practice and academia, and also a very, very good read. Geert Van Calster, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium This book examines and critiques the WTO s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), asking whether it strikes an appropriate balance between conflicting domestic health protection and trade liberalization objectives. It pays particular attention to situations likely to occur but not yet fully examined either in the literature or in WTO law; most importantly, where public opinion demands regulation in the face of scientific uncertainty as to the existence or otherwise of a health risk. Tracey Epps concludes that the SPS Agreement s science-based framework is capable of dealing with the differing objectives of health and trade, and that it provides countries with more flexibility to respond to scientific uncertainties and public sentiment than many critics contend. This conclusion is strongly influenced by a positive analysis of domestic regulatory decision-making, which finds potential for regulatory capture by domestic protectionist interests and thus emphasizes the importance of ensuring that decisions are made on a sound and principled basis. Including a historical overview of disputes over trade and health since the 1800s, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of and new perspective on an important area of intersection between international trade law and domestic policy. It will be of interest to a wide-ranging audience including legal and non-legal academics, policy makers and analysts in the field of risk regulation, trade law practitioners in governments, and lawyers and analysts in international institutions.

The Power to Protect

The Power to Protect
Author: Catherine Button
Publisher:
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2004
Genre: Foreign trade regulation
ISBN: 9781472563187

Examines the intersection of WTO trade liberalisation rules and domestic health protection, a subject of considerable interest to those concerned that the WTO impinges on national regulatory autonomy. It analyses the tension between health protection and trade liberalisation, and how disputes are resolved. Melbourne author.

Trade and Human Health and Safety

Trade and Human Health and Safety
Author: George A. Bermann
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2006-01-23
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1139448633

This book gathers papers from distinguished experts discussing how health-based trade-restrictive measures have fared in WTO case law. With an analysis of applicable primary law (GATT, TBT, and SPS) and all case law in the area of trade and health, this book offers a comprehensive discussion on the standards established for the regulation of public health and safety issues. Experts in the field answer two important questions: how can a country which is a member of the WTO define its policy on health issues; and what are the WTO constraints on the exercise of health policy, if any? The various contributions in this volume aim to demonstrate how the world trading regime has come of age and accepted that trade liberalization cannot take place at the expense of nationally defined social values.

Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation - Intersections between Public Health, Intellectual Property and Trade

Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation - Intersections between Public Health, Intellectual Property and Trade
Author: World Intellectual Property Organization
Publisher: WIPO
Total Pages: 259
Release: 2013
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9280523082

This study has emerged from an ongoing program of trilateral cooperation between WHO, WTO and WIPO. It responds to an increasing demand, particularly in developing countries, for strengthened capacity for informed policy-making in areas of intersection between health, trade and IP, focusing on access to and innovation of medicines and other medical technologies.

Domestic Regulation and Service Trade Liberalization

Domestic Regulation and Service Trade Liberalization
Author: Pierre Sauve
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2003-08-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0821383434

Trade in services, far more than trade in goods, is affected by a variety of domestic regulations, ranging from qualification and licensing requirements in professional services to pro-competitive regulation in telecommunications services. Experience shows that the quality of regulation strongly influences the consequences of trade liberalization. WTO members have agreed that a central task in the ongoing services negotiations will be to develop a set of rules to ensure that domestic regulations support rather than impede trade liberalization. Since these rules are bound to have a profound impact on the evolution of policy, particularly in developing countries, it is important that they be conducive to economically rational policy-making. This book addresses two central questions: What impact can international trade rules on services have on the exercise of domestic regulatory sovereignty? And how can services negotiations be harnessed to promote and consolidate domestic policy reform across highly diverse sectors? The book, with contributions from several of the world's leading experts in the field, explores a range of rule-making challenges arising at this policy interface, in areas such as transparency, standards and the adoption of a necessity test for services trade. Contributions also provide an in-depth look at these issues in the key areas of accountancy, energy, finance, health, telecommunications and transportation services.

Globalization and Health

Globalization and Health
Author: Ronald Labonté
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2009-05-07
Genre: Health & Fitness
ISBN: 1135850097

Contemporary globalization has had tremendous impact on health equity across the globe. However, no volume has systematically analyzed the relationship between globalization and global trends in health outcomes. This book consolidates and updates the findings of a global research project undertaken by the Globalisation Knowledge Network (GKN) of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Chapters examine such questions as: How has trade liberalisation affected the social determinants of health? How has globalization affected food security, nutrition and equitable access to water and sanitation? How well do present global governance structures take account of the health equity effects associated with the social determinants of health? This landmark volume will be a necessary addition for researchers and scholars studying the field of globalization, health and social policy, and public health across the social sciences.

Handbook of Global Health

Handbook of Global Health
Author: Ilona Kickbusch
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 2881
Release: 2021-05-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 9783030450083

Global health is a rapidly emerging discipline with a transformative potential for public policy and international development. Emphasizing transnational health issues, global health aims to improve health and achieve health equity for all people worldwide. Its multidisciplinary scope includes contributions from many disciplines within and beyond the health sciences, including clinical medicine, public health, social and behavioral sciences, environmental sciences, economics, public policy, law and ethics. This large reference offers up-to-date information and expertise across all aspects of global health and helps readers to achieve a truly multidisciplinary understanding of the topics, trends as well as the clinical, socioeconomic and environmental drivers impacting global health. As a fully comprehensive, state-of-the-art and continuously updated, living reference, the Handbook of Global Health is an important, dynamic resource to provide context for global health clinical care, organizational decision-making, and overall public policy on many levels. Health workers, physicians, economists, environmental and social scientists, trainees and medical students as well as professionals and practitioners will find this handbook of great value.

The Regulation of International Trade, Volume 2

The Regulation of International Trade, Volume 2
Author: Petros C. Mavroidis
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 887
Release: 2016-04-22
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0262333724

A detailed examination of WTO agreements regulating trade in goods, discussing legal context, policy background, economic rationale, and case law. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has extended its institutional arsenal since the Kennedy round in the early 1960s. The current institutional design is the outcome of the Uruguay round and agreements reached in the ongoing Doha round (begun in 2001). One of the institutional outgrowths of GATT is the World Trade Organization (WT0), created in 1995. In this book, Petros Mavroidis offers a detailed examination of WTO agreements regulating trade in goods, discussing legal context, policy background, economic rationale, and case law. Each chapter examines a given legal norm and its subsequent practice. In particular, he discusses agreements dealing with customs clearance; “contingent protection” instruments, which allow WTO members unilaterally to add to the negotiated amount of protection when a certain contingency (for example, dumping) has occurred; TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade) and SPS (Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures) agreements, both of which deal with such domestic instruments as environmental, health policy, or consumer information; the agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIM); sector-specific agreements on agriculture and textiles; plurilateral agreements (binding a subset of WTO membership) on government procurement and civil aviation; and transparency in trade relations. This book's companion volume examines the GATT regime for international trade.