An Empirical Analysis on the WTO Disputes Related with Agricultural Products

This paper analyzes 130 agricultural products related disputes filed through the WTO from 1995 to 2010. Simple descriptive statistics show that the US and Cairns group members have been the most active participants of the disputes on agricultural products not only as complainants but also as respondents. The Agreement on Agriculture, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Agreements on Import Licensing Procedures have been the most frequently invoked provisions in agricultural product cases. Regression results indicate that disputes between neighboring countries are more likely to be pending, while the agricultural competitiveness gap between participants increases the possibility of the disputes settled through consultation. While relatively more ILA cases are settled and AG cases remain pending, SPS related cases are often taken to panel process. With these control variables considered, the cases involved with the Cairns group are shown to be more probable to proceed in panel stage, while cases against developing countries and frequently accused members, like the EU and Korea, are less likely to enter that stage. Also it is very difficult for complainants to get satisfactory results against the US and Cairns countries. Developing country complainants seem to be the especially poor performer.