I am writing to you pursuant to Article
17.5 of the Understanding on Rules and
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, which stipulates that, as
a general rule, the Appellate Body will circulate its report no later than 60
days after the appellant has formally notified the Dispute Settlement Body of
its decision to appeal. Article 17.5
states, furthermore, that when the Appellate Body considers that it cannot
provide its report within 60 days, it shall inform the DSB in writing of the
reasons for the delay together with an estimate of the period within which it
will submit its report.
Chile
notified the Dispute Settlement Body of its decision to appeal certain issues
of law covered in the Panel Report and legal interpretations developed by the
Panel in this case on 24 June 2002, with the result that the 60-day
period will expire on Friday, 23 August 2002.
Due to the time required for completion and translation of the Report,
the Appellate Body will not be able to circulate its Report by Friday, 23
August 2002. We estimate that the
Appellate Body Report in this appeal will be circulated to WTO Members no later
than Monday, 23 September 2002.