當前位置

首頁 > 英語閱讀 > 雙語新聞 > 美國被指破壞世貿組織公正性

美國被指破壞世貿組織公正性

推薦人: 來源: 閱讀: 1.79W 次

The US has been accused of being a bully and undermining the World Trade Organisation’s dispute system after vetoing the reappointment of a South Korean judge. The EU and legal scholars have warned that the veto threatens the impartiality of the global trade court.

美國被指破壞世貿組織公正性

美國被指以大欺小和破壞世界貿易組織(WTO)的爭端解決機制,因爲美國否決了一名韓國裁判官的連任。歐盟和法律學者都警告稱,此舉威脅到全球貿易法庭的公正性。

US opposition comes at a time when many believe Washington has been losing faith in the WTO and is preparing for a big fight with China over how and when economies can deploy anti-dumping defences against cheap imports.

美方表態反對之際,很多人相信美國對WTO失去了信心,並準備在各經濟體如何以及何時部署針對廉價進口商品的反傾銷防禦措施方面,與中國好好較量一番。

The US told fellow WTO members last week that it could not support the reappointment of Seung Wha Chang, a respected South Korean expert in international trade law whose four-year term on the seven-member resident appellate body ends on Tuesday.

美國上週通知WTO其他成員國,它不能支持重新任命韓國籍的張勝和(Seung Wha Chang)。張是一名受尊敬的國際貿易法專家,他在由七名裁判官組成的常設上訴機構的四年任期在週二結束。

Washington cited the body’s decisions in three cases involving the US and one other as examples of what it said was a pattern of WTO panels overreaching and issuing “abstract” decisions.

華盛頓方面以該機構對三起涉及美國的案件和另一起案件的裁決爲例,稱WTO專家組存在越權和發佈“抽象”裁決的模式。

“The appellate body is not an academic body that may pursue issues simply because they are of interest to them or may be to certain members in the abstract,” the US told WTO members. “It is not the role of the appellate body to engage in abstract discussions.”

“這個上訴機構並不是一個學術組織,可以追求自己或者某些成員國在理論層面可能感興趣的任何課題,”美國對WTO成員國表示。“從事抽象討論不是該上訴機構的職責。”

But other WTO members, including Brazil, Japan and the EU, say the US objection to Mr Chang serving a second four-year term, as is customary, risks undermining the appellate body and its independence and therefore the entire dispute system.

但是,巴西、日本和歐盟等WTO其它成員國表示,美國反對張勝和按照慣例擔任第二個四年任期,可能削弱該上訴機構及其獨立性,因而不利於整個爭端解決機制。

That is of particular concern because the WTO’s role in resolving trade disputes is widely seen as a great strength of the intergovernmental organisation, which was created in 1995 as a successor to the post-second world war General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

這件事值得特別關注,因爲WTO在解決貿易爭端方面的作用被廣泛視爲這個政府間組織的一大強項;創立於1995年的該組織是二戰後出爐的《關稅及貿易總協定》(GATT)的繼任者。

“This is unprecedented and poses a very serious threat to the independence and impartiality of current and future appellate body members,” the EU told a meeting of the governing body for the WTO’s dispute settlement system last week.

“這是前所未有的舉動,對當前乃至未來的上訴機構成員的獨立性和公正性構成非常嚴重的威脅”,歐盟上週在WTO爭端解決機制管理機構的一個會議上表示。

In an interview, Roberto Azevêdo, the WTO’s director-general, declined to comment on the US objection to Mr Chang’s reappointment. “They have their concerns, which they made very explicitly,” he said.

WTO總幹事羅伯託•阿澤維多(Roberto Azevêdo,見上圖)在一次採訪中拒絕就美國反對張勝和連任一事進行置評。“他們有他們的顧慮,他們作了很明確的表述,”他說。

But he admitted the reappointment of panellists was a sensitive issue and raised the possibility of members changing the way judges are selected and their term limits. Some at the WTO have proposed that members of the appellate body serve a single seven-year term.

但他承認小組成員的連任是一個敏感問題,並提出成員國改變裁判官遴選方式及其任期限制的可能性。WTO的一些人士提議上訴機構裁判官擔任一個七年任期。

The US intervention comes ahead of what is likely to be an important period for the appellate body. Among the issues it is expected to decide are whether China is entitled to “market economy” status within the WTO, an important designation that would help Beijing fight back against anti-dumping cases, such as those being mounted against Chinese steel imports on both sides of the Atlantic.

美國進行干預之際,這個上訴機構很可能將要迎來一段重要時期。預計它要裁決的問題將包括中國是否有資格在WTO內部獲得“市場經濟地位”,這將是一個重要的稱號,它將有助於北京方面反擊反傾銷案件,比如大西洋兩岸針對進口中國鋼材發起的反傾銷行動。

Beijing claims it should be awarded the status automatically in December, the 15th anniversary of the country joining the WTO. The US and some opponents in Europe insist that the text of China’s accession agreement is more ambiguous and that eventually the issue will have to be decided by the appellate body.

北京方面聲稱,它應該在今年12月,即中國加入WTO的15週年之際,自動獲得市場經濟地位。歐洲的一些反對者和美國堅持認爲,中國入世協議的措辭較爲模糊,這個問題最終將不得不提交上訴機構裁決。

Such a dispute would be among the most consequential the WTO has confronted since China joined the WTO in 2001. It might also be one of its most political.

這樣的爭執將是自2001年中國加入WTO以來,WTO遭遇的最重大糾紛之一。它也可能是WTO面對的最具政治色彩的糾紛之一。

Because of a collapse in steel prices blamed on Chinese overcapacity and the shuttering of competing mills around the world, the issue of China’s market economy status has become politically sensitive around the world, particularly in Europe.

由於鋼材價格崩盤被歸咎於中國的產能過剩,加上世界各地鋼廠紛紛關門,中國的市場經濟地位問題在世界各地變得具有政治敏感性,特別是在歐洲。

Greg Shaffer, an expert in WTO law at the University of California Irvine, said the US’s opposition to the reappointment of Mr Chang risked injecting politics into what ought to be a purely legal process.

美國加州大學歐文分校(University of California Irvine)的WTO法律專家格雷格•謝弗(Greg Shaffer)表示,美國反對張勝和連任的風險在於,此舉可能給一個理應純粹的法律過程注入政治因素。

It also, he said, was “making the US look like a bully, and not an upholder of rule of law principles”.

他說,此舉還“使美國看起來像一個欺凌者,而不是法治原則的維護者”。

“The US response and example will have ripple effects around the world,” Prof Shaffer said. “Undermining the independence of the WTO appellate body will affect the entire rules-based system to resolve trade disputes.”

“美國的迴應和案例將在世界各地產生漣漪效應,”謝弗教授表示。“削弱WTO上訴機構的獨立性,將影響整個基於規則解決貿易爭端的體制。”