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ARTICLE · 15 MARCH 2013

Canada To Appeal WTO FIT Related Decision

On February 5, 2013, Canada filed an appeal at the World Trade Organization ("WTO") at the Government of Ontario’s request, appealing a Panel Report handed down by the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Board on December 19, 2012, which partially ruled that Ontario’s Feed-in-Tariff ("FIT") Program with its domestic content requirements breach Canada’s international trade obligations.

CanadaInternational Law

On February 5, 2013, Canada filed an appeal at the World Trade Organization ("WTO") at the Government of Ontario's request, appealing a Panel Report handed down by the WTO's Dispute Settlement Board on December 19, 2012, which partially ruled that Ontario's Feed-in-Tariff ("FIT") Program with its domestic content requirements breach Canada's international trade obligations. 

In response to Canada's appeal, on February 11 and February 15, 2013, Japan and the European Union ("EU"), the primary complainants in the initial dispute, counter appealed.

Summary of December 19, 2012 WTO Panel Report

The Panel Report found that the "local content requirements" in FIT Contracts (i.e., domestic content requirements) are inconsistent with the non-discrimination principles found in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, 1994 ("GATT") Article III (National Treatment) and the Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) Agreement Article II (National Treatment). Essentially,

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