Implementation and dispute settlement of trade agreements

The focus of this chapter is on the role of the EU versus that of its Member States when it comes to the implementation of trade agreements and the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Understanding. For the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements, and in order to comply with its international commitments, the EU had to implement these agreements in EU law. Some aspects did not need any implementation, since EU legislation was already in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Agreements. In relation to many other aspects, the EU had to adopt new or amend existing EU legislation, in most cases before 1 January 1995, the date on which the Uruguay Round Agreements were to enter into force. Some of the amendments to EU law, referred to as implementing legislation, were in fact not explicitly required by commitments undertaken by the EU under the Uruguay Round Agreements, but were amendments on which some EU Member States had insisted in return for their approval of the Agreements. This chapter also provides an analysis of recent EU FTAs such as the one with Vietnam and with New Zealand.