The Sustainable Development and the Issue of Subsidies in the Light of the Law of the World Trade Organization

The sustainable development, understood as one in which the needs of the present generation should be met without compromising the ability to meet the needs of future generations, is one of the most important challenges of the modern world. Subsidies, especially those concerning regional aid, research and development or environment aid are one of the most important instruments of the sustainable development policy. Some subsidies may be subject to countervailing measures (provisional countervailing duties, undertakings or countervailing duties). The Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement) of the World Trade Organization does not ban all subsidies outright, however it constitutes a compromise and discourages only the most distortive government subsidies. It is therefore important to indicate which subsidies are reprehensible and subject to countervailing measures, and whether the subsidies within sustainable development could be subject to countervailing measures and if the answer is positive in which circumstances. The main aim of the contribution is to confirm or disprove the main hypothesis, that according to the existing SCM Agreement rules the subsidies regarding regional aid, research and development or environment no longer qualify for the “green” category of subjects, that is a category of subsidies which can under no circumstances be subject to any anti-subsidy action. This article also aims to present the issue of the subsidies within the sustainable development from the WTO law point of view. Research method used is analysis of the law texts, especially the text of the SCM Agreement.