WTO Consultations

OK, finally I am settled enough to come to terms with a very busy life. I work pretty long but fun hours, e.g. last friday I spend some time in a conference room with some Dutch honorary consuls, only to be followed up by a debriefing at the European delegation about that weeks trade negotiations with Canada. I learn an incredible deal  here, but it takes up a lot of time.

TODAY though was already the highlight of my week. I got to represent the Netherlands in the European delegation to the WTO consultation meeting between Canada and Japan, to which the EU commission and the USA are observers. In other words I got to sit behind the Dutch flag! The meetings concerned the recent Ontario Green Energy act, which has left the EU, US, and especially Japan pretty pissed off. More information regarding the exact contents of the meetings can be found in the cited articles below. I of course cannot disclose the nature and specifics of the consultations, which for me makes it so much cooler.

And I walked home from the Ministery of Foreign Affairs and International Trade with a big smile on my face. :D



Ontario's FIT plan sends Japan to WTO
Japan has launched a World Trade Organization dispute against Canada, claiming made-in-Ontario requirements of that province's feed-in-tariff (FIT) program are a violation of international trade law.
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/Ontario+plan+sends+Japan/3520194/story.html

Solar rules will hurt Ontario, group warns
Ontario’s domestic-content rules could cost the province $2-billion in lost investment next year and threaten its ambitious targets for adding renewable power to the grid, says a coalition of foreign and Canadian solar-power manufacturers.
Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/solar-rules-will-hurt-ontario-group-warns/article1766007/