A Canadian viewpoint on domestic content

A viewpoint from Canada on the Ontario FiT ruling and the role local content rules should play in domestic policy making is found here. The Council for Canadians have been at the forefront of defending Ontario's local content requirements for renewable energy. One may not agree with the view, but one would have to contend with it in the context of globalization and its impact on local economies.

"“Without local content requirements for solar and wind power, the Green Energy Act is almost worthless to Ontario,” we said in November, when news leaked of the WTO decision. “Our provinces and local governments should have the right to ask for some local content in big projects like energy, transit and construction. These kinds of policies are used the world over to create vibrant local businesses. The alternative way of attracting investment is to cut wages and taxes, which is just a race to the bottom. We need more options if we are going to make our economies more sustainable.”

Local content, non-discrimination, development of local industry and capability, cheaper goods to the market - all contested arguments in the ongoing debate. One interesting aspect in this piece is that how a position/stand of a producer/manufacturer could change when one benefits from local content to losing markets from it.

EU and Japan also appeal - Ontario case becomes more interesting

I have blogged about the Canadian FiT case at the WTO case here, here and here. News of Canada appealing the matter was reported here. It was not surprising since Canada had lost the case and was contesting the finding of the panel report that it had violated the provisions of the TRIMS and GATT.

Reports of the EU and Japan cross-appealing caught my attention. This would presumably be mainly on the interpretation of the provisions of the ASCM, especially the definition of a subsidy and benefit.

It is clear that the Appellate Body would decide the legal contours of this dispute, especially the compatibility of local content requirements with WTO law in the context of governments guaranteeing a minimum feed in tariff. With a number of countries across the world, both developing and developed, having massive renewable energy support programs (many of them with local content requirements), the AB ruling all be keenly awaited. One hopes that going by timeframe of the Antigua and Airbus-Boeing cases at the WTO dispute settlement, the wait for a closure is not too long!