Legal Review



Legal Reviews

The current paper presents the case of complaint mentioned that Australia imposed certain measures regarding the import of apples from New Zealand which violated the agreements of WTO regarding the SPS Agreement.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) refers an organization which works with the primary function to liberalize and supervise the international trade. It was on January 1, 1995 that the organization incepted its functions in an official manner according to the Marrakech Agreement. This agreement has been the replacement for the GATT, which was established during the year 1948. WTO is primarily concerned with the trade monitoring and regulations between the countries who are the participants in such activities. WTO tends to provide to all the countries a structure for the formalization and negotiations of the trade agreements, along with process of dispute resolution that serves the purpose of implementing the compliance of participants to the agreements presented by the WTO that are usually signed by member government's representatives and ratified by the respective parliaments.

The World Trade Organizations perform various functions and these are considered as most vital and significant by the analysts. The primary and most fundamental function of the organization is to oversee and monitor the administration, implementation, activities and operation that are covered under the WTO's agreements. The organization also gives to the member countries a platform for the purpose of settling negotiations and disputes. In addition to this, the major part of the duty of WTO lies in propagating and reviewing the national trade policies, and in guaranteeing the transparency and coherence of the policies involved in trading with the help of surveillance involved in the economic policy-making on a global level. One of the other priorities if the World Trade Organization is to help and assist the least-developed, developing, and low-income countries in transition for adjusting and making efforts to adhere to the disciplines and rules that are maintained by the WTO through training and technical cooperation.

Measures forced by Australia on New Zealand

It was on August 9, 2010, that a final report was issued by the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute panel regarding a trade dispute that involved the filing of complaint by the New Zealand. The complaint mentioned that Australia imposed certain measures regarding the import of apples from New Zealand which violated the agreements of WTO regarding the Application of SPS Agreement. Since, WTO is basically responsible for the trade regulations and monitoring between the countries who are the participants in such activities, so it is pursued by Australia and New Zealand to solve their trading issues as well. WTO is therefore charged with the duty to provide to these two countries a suitable framework for the formalization and negotiations of the trade agreements, along with process of dispute resolution

The claims of New Zealand were upheld by the panel which found that the 16 measures undertaken by Australia in relation to the European canker and diseases of fire blight, along with the leaf-curling midge of apple, were not ...