And So It Begins: Trade and Sustainable Development Recommendations by a Panel of Experts under a European Union Free Trade Agreement

Abstract

An ad hoc Panel of Experts has determined for the first time that a free trade partner of the European Union violated sustainable development obligations under the new generation of free trade agreements. The Republic of Korea was the EU’s first trading partner to ratify such an agreement.2 After a European Commission non-paper in 2018 promised “more assertive” use of the soft dispute mechanism for “trade and sustainable development” issues in free trade agreements, the EU filed formal proceedings against Korea.3The Panel’s report is a milestone decision that will likely serve as a precedent for future ad hoc panels.