Jennifer Hillman: WTO Dispute Settlement Crisis? @nzuscouncil Panel
Channel: NZUS Council
Date: 2019-06-13

Jennifer Hillman (by video call) says during a recent panel discussion [1.11] "we are on the precipice of having the rules based system, or certainly the dispute settlement part of the rules based system, collapse and collapse basically at the behest of one country, the United States.” 

Jennifer is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center, former US Appellate Body member, former Ambassador and General Counsel in the Office of the United States Trade Representative.  She spoke recently (7 May 2019) at a New Zealand United States Council (NZ US Council) co-hosted a panel discussion with Chapman Tripp titled: The WTO Dispute Settlement Crisis: What’s at stake and how can we save it?

The panel looked at the current challenges facing the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body, the US concerns, the pathway forward, and how or what businesses can do to support efforts by the New Zealand government to strengthen the WTO.

Other notable comments: 
[10:06]: “the specific things that the US is complaining about are fairly technical, but I think they have to be regarded in this bigger context of this overall sense that what does the US really want. I fear is it really wants to go back to a non-rules-based power-based might makes right system. So that's my real concern. 

[10:26] “And my concern above all else is we need to fix this before it's broken. I don't think, um, that if we allow a binding dispute settlement system to die, that it will be very easy for it to come back again. I think it was a really unique confluence of events in the 1990s that allowed the United States to sign on to this binding dispute settlement system.”

Other panellists included:
Penny Ridings – international lawyer, Panellist in WTO dispute settlement cases, and counsel for New Zealand in WTO dispute settlement cases, including lead on  US – Lamb Safeguards and Australia – Apples (consultations)

Sarah Paterson – trade policy expert with 20 years’ experience working in government and the private sector including as a diplomat and working for Fonterra in Amsterdam.

Jo McKeagg - Lead Adviser in the Trade Law Unit, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, previous positions include as legal counsel and trade negotiator at New Zealand's Mission to the WTO in Geneva, and Legal Affairs Officer in the WTO Secretariat.