At a meeting of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on March 28, a large group of members continued their push to start the process for filling vacancies on the WTO's Appellate Body, arguing that continued delay was damaging to the interests of members and to the multilateral trading system as a whole.

The United States has been blocking the processes to appoint new judges to the Appellate Body, and with judges' mandates expiring after a set period the Body has now run short of judges and is effectively paralyzed.

Mexico, speaking on behalf of 123 members, introduced for the 52nd time the group's proposal to start the selection processes for filling vacancies on the Appellate Body. The extensive number of members submitting the proposal reflects a common concern over the current situation in the Appellate Body which is seriously affecting the overall WTO dispute settlement system against the best interest of members, Mexico said for the group.

The United States reiterated it was not in a position to support the proposed decision. The US said it believes that WTO members must undertake fundamental reform if the dispute settlement system is to remain viable and credible. The dispute settlement system can and should better support the WTO's negotiating and monitoring functions, the US said, adding that it looked forward to further discussions with members on these important issues.

Around 20 delegations (including the EU for its 27 members and Nigeria for the African Group) took the floor to reiterate the importance of the WTO's two-tiered dispute settlement system to the stability and predictability of the multilateral trading system. Several cited this issue as the top priority for reform of the organization and said the continued impasse was causing both commercial harm to members and systemic harm to multilateral trade.

 

Back