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5 - Energy in WTO law and policy

from PART II - Reforming specific areas of trade regulation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2011

Thomas Cottier
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Garba Malumfashi
Affiliation:
University of Dundee, United Kingdom
Sofya Matteotti-Berkutova
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Olga Nartova
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Joëlle De Sépibus
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Sadeq Z. Bigdeli
Affiliation:
University of Bern, Switzerland
Thomas Cottier
Affiliation:
World Trade Institute
Panagiotis Delimatsis
Affiliation:
Universiteit van Tilburg, The Netherlands
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Summary

KEY MESSAGES

∙ The regulation of energy in international law is highly fragmented and largely incoherent. We submit that pertinent issues should be addressed by a future Framework Agreement on Energy within WTO law.

∙ Successful regulation of energy requires a coherent combination of rules both on goods and services. Energy services require new classifications suitable to deal coherently with energy as an integrated sector.

∙ Rules on subsidies relating to energy call for new approaches within the Framework Agreement on Energy. A distinction should be made between renewable and non-renewable energy. Moreover, disciplines need to be developed in the context of emission trading.

∙ The Framework Agreement should address the problem of restricting energy production and export restrictions.

∙ Disciplines on government procurement are able to take into account policies on green procurement, but a number of changes to the GPA Agreement will be required to make green procurement more effective and attractive.

∙ In view of the close interactions between the energy sector and climate change, formulating effective rules to address energy under the WTO system will catalyse coherence and complementarity between the climate and trade regimes.

Introduction

Sixty years ago, when the rules of the GATT were negotiated, world energy demand was a fraction of what it is today and so were energy prices. While energy has always been a crucial factor in geopolitics, at that time liberalising trade in energy was not a political priority. The industry was largely dominated by state-run monopolies and thus governed by strict territorial allocation.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Prospects of International Trade Regulation
From Fragmentation to Coherence
, pp. 211 - 244
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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