THE ROLE OF WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) AS ARBITRATOR IN RESOLVING COTTON DISPUTE BETWEEN BRAZIL AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (2002 – 2014)

Abstract

In the world of globalization, international trade is increasingly growing and there are a lot of actors involved, not just states, so it will create more complex conflicts. One of the most widely disputed commodities in international trade is cotton. In 2002, Brazil filed a lawsuit against a domestic support program created by the United States of America. In their claim, Brazil requested the help from the World Trade Organization to resolve their cotton dispute. In the process, there are several countries involved as third parties. The conflicted domestic support programs made by US are Countercyclical Payment, Export Credit Guarantee, Marketing Assistance Loan, and Step 2 Payments. In the end, those programs have been proven guilty and the US made a one-time payment of $ 300 million to Brazilian Cotton Institute as a form of compensation. This thesis was written using qualitative methods in analyzing and summarizing the cases taken. In addition, there is also a combination of descriptive research and analysis to find out the facts as the main source of the process of writing this thesis. Therefore, the result of this thesis shows the role of the WTO as one of the international organizations can effectively help the settlement of disputes between countries, especially in the trade sector.