Glass Producers in Dire Straits True Bleu and Verras, the two largest manufacturers of glass bottles in Richland, are experiencing severe economic problems. Over the last two years, they saw their combined share of the market in Richland for glass bottles drop from 60 per cent to 30 per cent and they had to lay off almost half of their workforce. Since 2001, the import of glass bottles into Richland has doubled every year. Most of these imports come from Sunland, the home of the world’s most efficient manufacturers of glass bottles, and a developing-country Member of the WTO. To prevent further job losses at TrueBleu and Verras and to give both companies some ‘breathing space’ to allow them to modernize their production, the Government of Richland decided last month to limit the import of glass bottles from Sunland to 1999 levels. It should be noted that the problems of Richland’s manufacturers of glass bottles are due not only to import competition but also to the fact that in recent times beer drinkers in Richland seem to prefer their beer in aluminum cans rather than glass bottles.Sunland has requested consultations with Richland on the import restriction of glass bottles.
You are a lawyer with the Geneva-based Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL). Newland, a member of the ACWL, has requested the ACWL to advise and assist its ambassador to the WTO in the upcoming consultations. In preparation for these discussions, you have been asked to write a legal brief in support of the position of Sunland.
(Minimum 500 words)
Sample Solution
