This does not come as a surprise. As a result, certain members will be able to block the final resolution of disputes. Through attrition, by late 2019 the Appellate Body was down to three members, the minimum required for appeals. With regard to the proposals on the reform of WTO appellate review currently under discussion, I will, however, say the following. I have always – as have my colleagues on the Appellate Body – taken such criticism to heart, even when it was often merely a repetition of the arguments that were already presented during the appellate proceedings, were extensively addressed, and were found wanting by the Appellate Body. But what they, and the discussions to arrive at them, really showed, was that there are no quick fixes; that the disagreements over what the appellate entity is supposed to be were too deep to be bridged quickly by generalities. The negotiating history strongly indicates that it was intended not as an international court, but as a check on occasional egregious mistakes by panels. Yet, US dissatisfaction with the way that the WTO dispute settlement system has worked and evolved goes back almost two decades. Given persistent overreaching by the Appellate Body, no WTO Member can trust that existing or new rules will be respected as written. - Third, a kind of group-think that de-legitimized serious systemic criticisms, and those who espoused them. Belief in a single, correct interpretation, and seeking it through extended analyses, encouraged gap filling and overreach. Get regular updates on our research and events in your inbox. The Appellate Body, as we have known it, is gone and is not returning. The crisis usually is presented as the US against the world. Problems viewing this page? If there is still any talk of re-starting selections for new Appellate Body members, it is a pipe dream that begs a question: selections for what? Late in the Obama Administration the US government began blocking reappointments, and in subsequent years the US blocked all new appointments, to the WTO Appellate Body. This is the official website of the U.S. Mission in Geneva. Privacy Notice. adjust your browser settings. What context? In addition to the U.S. Department of State, many other U.S. government agencies work closely with international organizations in Geneva, and are represented here. Terms are staggered, ensuring that not all Members … Some of the world's major trading nations have agreed on a way to circumvent U.S. obstruction of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the body responsible for resolving international trade disputes. The AB was to consider only "legal" issues. First, make sure the persons tasked with making the decisions - the arbitrators, the deciders, the successors to Appellate Body Members - control the consideration of appeals from beginning to end. They usually have a direct impact - one way or the other - on manufacturing jobs and thus on families, communities, and their political representatives. The U.S. Embassy in Bern is responsible for the bilateral relationship with Switzerland and Liechtenstein and provides consular services including Visas and U.S. Citizen Services. Given persistent overreaching by the Appellate Body, no WTO Member can trust that existing or new rules will be respected as written. I hope that sharing the experience I was privileged to have may help add another perspective to the discussions that I believe must occur if there is ever to be a successor to the WTO Appellate Body. This persistent overreaching is plainly contrary to the Appellate Body’s limited mandate, as set out in WTO rules. He got as far as it was possible to get. In the meantime, I hope progress will keep going on interim appellate arbitrations, whether ad hoc or under agreed rules. The United States has stated – most recently at the General Council meeting of 7 May 2019 – that the Appellate Body should follow the rules set out in the DSU. Report on the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, Office of the United States Trade Representative It is true that some members may agree to resolve disputes through alternative means: they may agree not to appeal and to adopt panel reports; they may agree — as Canada and the European Union have — to request an alternative ad hoc body to review a decision that they would have otherwise appealed; or they may reach some other solution. Facing the prospect of an Appellate Body unable to function, the WTO Director General assigned Ambassador David Walker, of New Zealand, the Chair of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, to consult with member governments and come up with an agreed set of principles on the main points of contention. Their decisions can be appealed to the Appellate Body, which needs at least three members to hear and decide each appeal. Dispute settlement under the WTO is a two-stage process. This does not come as a surprise. Soon after I joined the Appellate Body I was struck by several things: First, the degree of control by the Appellate Body staff leadership, compared with the control that one would think should have been coming from Appellate Body Members; Second, an over-emphasis on "collegiality" that shaded into peer pressure to conform, together with. "This is a significant move to unblock the WTO appeal system and keep it functioning," Renata Amaral, international trade scholar at the American University Washington College of Law, told CGTN Europe. But Renata Amaral said that, although it may partially solve the problems facing the dispute settlement system, "it will not solve the long-term problems facing the WTO with the current paralysis of the Appellate Body. More recently, however, Ricardo Ramírez Hernández continued to serve after his term had ended, for close to a year, as did Peter Van den Bossche, for well over a year. They deal with the nitty-gritty of trade competition: fairness of prices. As reported by the press in recent days, Graham indicated that he would step down unless the WTO ousted Werner Zdouc, an employee of the WTO, as the director of the Appellate Body Secretariat. Fourth, a sense of infallibility - "it's right because we say it" - and of entitlement, to stretch the words of agreed texts, and to stretch decisions beyond merely resolving a particular disputes, so as to create a body of jurisprudence, or to head off future disputes, matters that were beyond the Appellate Body's mandate, I believed. How were they influenced by my eight years on the inside? I'll begin with a quick review of events at the end of last year, which will be familiar to many of you but may help others to follow what I say later. The problems go to the basic question of whether there can be universal agreement on a WTO appellate entity. Finally, allow me to pay tribute to my colleagues on the Appellate Body and the staff of the Appellate Body Secretariat.