THE ISSUES OF SCOPE AND LEGAL STATUS IN WTO – IMF CONSULTATIONS

Year 2024, Volume: 14 Issue: 1, 117 - 147, 01.07.2024

Mustafa Göker

https://doi.org/10.54704/akdhfd.1439203

Abstract

In designing the international economic governance system after the Second World War, trade and finance, due to the close connection between them, were addressed as parts of a whole. A predictable and stable international monetary system was recognized as prerequisite for healthy and sustainable trade. However, these two issues were regulated under different institutional structures, by envisaging close cooperation and coordination. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), designed to be responsible for international finance and monetary issues, was established in 1944. The International Trade Organization (ITO) was designed to address international trade, while the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), with a limited scope, was temporarily put into implementation in January 1, 1948 to provide rapid tariff reductions until the ratification of ITO Charter. The ITO became still-born as it was not approved by national parliaments, especially the USA, and international trade continued to be regulated by the GATT. The GATT, with its unique organizational structure that gradually developed, continued its existence until the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995 and hosted international trade negotiations. WTO, with more advanced legal and institutional structure, took over the functions of the GATT. Formal consultation procedures have constituted an important part of the cooperation between the GATT/WTO and the IMF in the context of the management of international trade and monetary/financial system. These procedures differ from traditional cooperation activities between international organizations and have a special character. It is regulated in a binding language as an obligation for the relevant WTO bodies to apply for consultations with the IMF on certain issues and to comply with the inputs received from the IMF. There are some points open to interpretation regarding the scope of the consultations and the binding and functional status of IMF inputs in the WTO. This study discusses the issues of scope and legal status.

Keywords

World Trade Organization (WTO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Balance of Payments Restrictions, Exchange Arrangements, WTO-IMF Consultations

DTÖ – IMF DANIŞMALARINDA KAPSAM VE HUKUKİ STATÜ MESELELERİ

Abstract

İkinci Dünya Savaşı sonrasında uluslararası ekonomik yönetişim sistemi tasarlanırken ticaret ve finans konuları, aralarındaki yakın bağlantı nedeniyle bir bütünün parçaları olarak ele alınmıştır. Öngörülebilir ve istikrarlı bir uluslararası para sistemi, sağlıklı ve sürdürülebilir bir uluslararası ticaret için ön koşul olarak kabul edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte, bu iki konu farklı kurumsal yapılar altında düzenlenmiş; bu yapılar arasında yakın işbirliği ve koordinasyon öngörülmüştür. Uluslararası finans ve para konularından sorumlu olmak üzere tasarlanan Uluslararası Para Fonu (IMF) 1944 yılında hayata geçirilmiştir. Uluslararası ticareti ele almak üzere ise Uluslararası Ticaret Örgütü (ITO) tasarlanmış, bu arada, ITO Şartı devletler tarafından onaylanıncaya kadar hızlı bir şekilde tarife indirimleri sağlamak üzere, sınırlı bir kapsama sahip Gümrük Tarifeleri ve Ticaret Genel Antlaşması (GATT) 1 Ocak 1948’de geçici şekilde uygulamaya konulmuştur. ITO Şartı, başta ABD olmak üzere ulusal parlamentolarca onaylanmayınca hayata geçirilememiş, uluslararası ticaret konuları GATT tarafından düzenlenmeye devam etmiştir. GATT, tedricen gelişen özgün örgütsel yapısıyla, 1995’te Dünya Ticaret Örgütü (DTÖ) kuruluncaya kadar varlığını sürdürmüş ve uluslararası ticaret müzakerelerine ev sahipliği yapmıştır. Daha ileri bir yasal ve kurumsal yapıya sahip olan DTÖ, GATT’ın işlevlerini devralmıştır. Uluslararası para/finans sistemi ile ticaretin yönetimi bağlamında GATT/DTÖ ve IMF arasındaki işbirliğinin önemli bir kısmını resmi danışma usulleri oluşturmaktadır. Bu usuller, örgütler arasındaki geleneksel işbirliği faaliyetlerinden farklılıklar arz etmekte ve hususi bir karakter taşımaktadır. Belirli konularda, ilgili DTÖ organlarının IMF’e danışma başvurusunda bulunması ve IMF’ten alınan girdilere uygun davranması, bağlayıcı bir dille, bir yükümlülük olarak düzenlenmiştir. Danışmaların kapsamı ile IMF girdilerinin DTÖ’deki bağlayıcılık ve işlevsel statüsüne dair yoruma açık hususlar bulunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, bahsi geçen kapsam ve hukuki statü meselelerini tartışmaktadır.

Keywords

Dünya Ticaret Örgütü (DTÖ), Uluslararası Para Fonu (IMF), Ödemeler Dengesi Kısıtlamaları, Kambiyo Düzenlemeleri, DTÖ-IMF Danışmaları

References

• Ahn, Dukgeun. “Linkages between International Financial and Trade Institutions: IMF, World Bank and WTO”. Journal of World Trade 34, no. 4 (2000): 1-36.
• Analytical Index of the GATT on Article XV. Access Date: 21 February 2023. https:// www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/ai17_e/gatt1994_art15_gatt47.pdf.
• Foltea, Marina. International Organizations in WTO Dispute Settlement: How Much Institutional Sensitivity? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• GATT, Documentation for Article XII:4(b) and Article XVIII:3(b) Consultations; Note by the Chairman of the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions (L/3388), 27 April 1970. Access Date: 06 June 2023. https://docs.wto.org/gattdocs/q/GG/ L3799/3388.PDF.
• GATT, First Report of the Working Party on United Kingdom Import Deposits (L/3193), 3 April 1969. Access Date: 06 June 2023. https://www.wto.org/gatt_docs/English/ SULPDF/90820027.pdf.
• GATT, Procedures for Regular Consultations on Balance-Of-Payments Restrictions with Developing Countries, L/3772/Rev.l, 10 January 1973 (As approved by the Council of Representatives on 19 December 1972). Access Date: 27 February 2023. https://docs. wto.org/gattdocs/q/GG/L3799/3772R1.PDF.
• GATT, Report of the Working Party on United States Temporary Inport Surcharge (L/3573), 13 September 1973. Access Date: 06 June 2023. https://docs.wto.org/ gattdocs/q/GG/L3799/3573.PDF.
• GATT Disputes, https://gatt-disputes.wto.org/disputes.
• Göker, Mustafa. “Küresel Ticaret Kurallarından Kaynaklı Uyuşmazlıkların Çözümünde Temyiz Sorunu”. In Sosyal Bilimlerde Güncel Meseleler, Eds. Çiğdem Çadırcı & Hatice Aztimur, 46-74. Konya: Çizgi Kitabevi, 2022.
• Göker, Mustafa. “Ukrayna - Rusya Krizi ve DTÖ Hukuku: Güvenlik İstisnalarının Yükselişi Mi?” Ömer Halisdemir Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi 16, no. 2 (April 2023): 381-406.
• IMF’s website, https://www.imf.org/en/Home.
• IMF, “Decision on Payments Restrictions and Multiple Currency Practices, Article VIII and Article XIV, 1034-(60/27), 1 June 1960”, Selected Decisions and Selected Documents of the IMF, Thirthy-Fifth Issue, p. 561-563, 2010. Access Date: 31 March 2023. https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sd/2011/123110.pdf.
• IMF, “Relations with the WTO and Fund-WTO Cooperation Agreement, 11381-(96/105), 25 November 1996”, Selected Decisions and Selected Documents of the IMF, Thirthy-Eigth Issue, p. 934-943, 2016. Access Date: 10 June 2023. https://www.imf. org/external/pubs/ft/sd/2016/IMF_Selected_Decisions_38e.pdf.
• Jackson, John Howard. The World Trade Organization: Constitution and Jurisprudence. London: Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1998.
• Louka, Elli. The Global Economic Order the International Law and Politics of the Financial and Monetary System. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020.
• Marceau, Gabrielle. “WTO Dispute Settlement and Human Rights”. European Journal of International Law 13, no. 4 (2002): 753-814.
• Mitchell, Andrew and Sheargold, Elizabeth. GATT Art.XV: Exchange Arrangements, Georgetown Business. Economics & Regulatory Law Research Paper No. 1507253, November 2009.
• Pauwelyn, Joost and Elsig, Manfred. “The Politics of Treaty Interpretation: Variations and Explanations Across International Tribunals”. In Interdisciplinary Perspectives on International Law and International Relations: The State of the Art, Eds. Jeffrey L Dunoff & Mark a Pollack, 445-473. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.
• Procedures for Regular Consultations on Balance-Of-Payments Restrictions with Developing Countries, L/3772/Rev.l, 10 January 1973 (As approved by the Council of Representatives on 19 December 1972). Access Date: 27 February 2023. https:// docs.wto.org/gattdocs/q/GG/L3799/3772R1.PDF.
• Qureshi, Asif. Interpreting WTO Agreements: Problems and Perspectives (Second Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
• Report of Review Working Party I on Quantitative Restrictions, L/332/Rev.1, 28 February 1955 (adopted on 2, 4 and 5 March 1955, 3S/170). Access Date: 21 February 2023. https://www.wto.org/gatt_docs/English/SULPDF/90690002.pdf.
• Siegel, Deborah. “Legal Aspects of IMF/WTO Relationship: The IMF’s Articles of Agreement and the WTO Agreements”. In Current Developments in Monetary and Financil Law (Vol. 3), 873-941. International Monetary Fund, 2005. Access Date: 1 March 2023. https://www.elibrary.imf.org/display/book/9781589063341/ch040.xml.
• Steger, Debra. “Amicus Curiae: Participant or Friend? The WTO and NAFTA Experience”. In European Integration and International Coordination: Studies in Transnational Economic Law in Honour of Clauss-Dieter Ehlermann, eds. A. von Bogdany & Petros C Mavroidis & Yves Mény, 419-450. New York: Kluwer Law International, 2002.
• Technical Information on Balance of Payments. Access Date: 21 February 2023. https:// www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/bop_e/bop_info_e.htm.
• Van Grasstek, Craig. The History and Future of the World Trade Organization. Geneva: WTO Publications, 2013.
• Van Damme, Isabelle. Treaty Interpretation by the WTO Appellate Body. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
• WTO Website, https://www.wto.org/index.htm.
• WTO, Decision Adopted by the General Council Concerning Agreements between the WTO and the IMF and the World Bank at Its Meeting on 7, 8, and 13 November 1996, WT/L/1 94.
• GATT Disputes Cited
• Greece Import Duties on Products Specified in Sechedule XXV (1952) GATT G/27-IS/51. Republic of Korea Restrictions on Imports of Beef (1989) GATT L/6504-36S/202, L/6505 - 36S/234, L/6503 - 36S/268.
• WTO Disputes Cited
• WTO, Argentina: Measures Affecting Imports of Footwear, Textiles, Apparel and other Items-Report of the Panel (27 November 1997) WT/DS56/R.
• WTO, Argentina: Measures Affecting Imports of Footwear, Textiles, Apparel and other Items-Report of the Appellate Body (27 March 1998) WT/DS56/AB/R.
• WTO, Dominican Republic: Measures Affecting the Importation and Internal Sale of Cigarettes-Report of the Panel (26 November 2004) WT/DS302/R.
• WTO, India: Quantitative Restrictions on Imports of Agricultural, Textile and Industrial Products-Report of the Panel (6 April 1999) WT/DS90/R.
• WTO, India: Quantitative Restrictions on Imports of Agricultural, Textile and Industrial Products-Report of the Appellate Body (23 August 1999) WT/DS90/AB/R.
• WTO, Japan: Measures Affecting Agricultural Products-Report of the Appellate Body (22 February 1999) WT/DS76/AB/R.
• WTO, United States: Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products (India, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand v. United States), WT/DS58, 1996.
• WTO, United States: Section 110(5) of the U.S. Copyright Act-Report of the Panel (15 June 2000) WT/DS160/R.
• WTO, United States: Section 211 Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998-Report of the Panel (6 August 2001) WT/DS176/R.