Does it FIT? An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Renewable Energy Measures and of the Implications of the Canada – Renewable Energy/FIT Disputes

This piece considers whether the recent Canada-Renewable Energy/FIT case gives any ammunition to the argument that the World Trade Organization’s subsidy law, as embodied in the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, is in need of reform. It begins by considering the nature of the measures involved in this case. What is their object? Are they effective in achieving it? The answers to these questions help to inform a discussion in the second half of the paper analyzing how these measures fared in the case, and considering how such measures should be treated under WTO law. The idea is to uncover findings with applicability to a wider group of measures than simply these two, but the note uses these two and the Canada – Renewable Energy/FIT case as a salient case study.

Tag: Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Clean Energy Technologies, Dispute Settlement, Industrial Policy, Investment Policy, Local Content Requirement, Policy Space, Subsidies