INTERNATIONAL TRADE REGULATION

FINAL EXAMINATION

GOLDEN GATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW

PROFESSOR HELEN E. HARTNELL

MAY 1, 2002

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This is an open-book examination. You are permitted to refer to the casebook, class handouts, class notes, and an outline prepared by you or your study group.  LL.M. and S.J.D. students whose native language is not English may also use an English-foreign language dictionary. USE DURING THE EXAMINATION OF ANY OTHER MATERIALS IS PROHIBITED.

2. WRITE YOUR EXAMINATION NUMBER ON THE TOP OF THIS PAGE AND ON EACH BLUE BOOK USED.

3. Your answers should be written in ink in blue books, or typed.  DO NOT USE PENCIL.

4.  In a blue book, please write on one side of the page only and do NOT skip lines.  If you type, please double-space your exam.

5. You have TWO hours to complete this examination, which consists of three (3) questions. The suggested times correspond to the importance and point value of each question. Thus, a question where I suggest 60 minutes would be twice as important -- and thus worth twice as many points -- as a question where I suggest only 30 minutes.

6. TURN IN ALL QUESTIONS, BLUE BOOKS, AND SCRATCH PAPER AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE EXAM.

QUESTION 1

Recommended Time: 60 Minutes

Pagoda (P) is a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In January 2002, Pagoda passed a new law regulating trade in bioengineered products that contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The Pagodan government had made public a draft of the GMO Regulation in July 2001. The GMO Regulation entered into effect in March 2002.

The new GMO Regulation provides that bioengineered products cannot be imported into Pagoda until after they have been inspected and approved by the Pagodan Health Ministry. This Ministry has set up a new regulatory inspection and approval regime to implement the GMO Regulation. The Pagodan government has confirmed that the process of obtaining approval for imports of bioengineered products is likely to take about nine months.

Bozola (B) is also a member of the WTO. B exports a wide variety - as well as a large quantity - of agricultural and other products to Pagoda, including many bioengineered products. Bozola's farmers are very unhappy with the Pagodan GMO Regulation. Bozolan soybean exports are affected, as are exports of corn, wheat, and cotton. Bozolan soybean exports to Pagoda are $1 billion annually, and wheat exports are $500 million annually. Shipments of Bozolan goods to Pagoda have been disrupted since the GMO Regulation was passed, since Bozolan exporters are afraid to take the risk of shipping goods under their contracts to Pagodan buyers, lest the goods be turned away at Pagodan ports. In addition to lost sales, the Bozolan exporters fear that they will be held liable for breach of their contracts with Pagodan importers.

Bozolan farmers have a number of complaints about the Pagodan GMO Regulation. First, they claim that the inspection and approval period is too long. Second, they complain that it is impossible for them to comply with the Pagodan GMO Regulation, because it is vague and unclear. Finally, Bozolan farmers complain that the Pagodan government did not allow enough time for comments and discussion before issuing the GMO Regulation.

Bozola has requested consultations with Pagoda over the GMO Regulation. You are legal advisor to the Bozolan government, and have been asked to draft Bozola's complaint to the Dispute Settlement Body (DBS). (This case will only be filed if ongoing consultations fail to result in a settlement between Pagoda and Bozola.) Please write a memorandum in which you outline the legal arguments that Bozola could present to the DSB. Your memorandum should address all relevant substantive and procedural issues, and should also anticipate (and refute) any arguments that you expect Pagoda to raise in its defense.

QUESTION 2

Recommended Time: 30 Minutes

You are legal advisor to the government of Zania, a medium-sized member of the WTO. The responsible minister for international economic relations has asked you to identify areas of WTO law that you think should be reformed. Please prepare a brief memorandum identifying and analyzing issues - substantive, procedural, or institutional - that you think could be improved. Please be specific, and state exactly what needs to be changed and why. No credit will be given for simply listing areas where reform might be desirable (e.g. dispute settlement, subsidies, and so on). Credit will be given only for identification of concrete problems. Extra credit will be given for proposed solutions

QUESTION 3

Recommended Time: 30 Minutes

Please comment on the attached article (pdf file), that was published in the London Financial Times on April 16, 2002. In a nutshell, the author argues that unilateralism might be more effective in today's world than multilateralism. (Do not worry about the historical details of her argument, just focus on the debate over the relative advantages and disadvantages of unilateralism and multilateralism.)