australia – subsidies provided to producers and exporters of

automotive leather

Recourse by the United States to Article 21.5 of the DSU

Communication from the Chairman of the Panel

            The following communication, dated 13 January 2000, addressed to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), is circulated in accordance with Article 21.5 of the DSU.

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            Article 21.5 of the DSU stipulates that a panel examining the existence or consistency with a covered agreement of measures taken to comply with the recommendations and rulings by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) shall circulate its report within 90 days after referral of the matter to it.  Article 21.5 further provides that when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report within 90 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 issue its report.

            At its meeting of 14 October 1999, the DSB decided, in accordance with Article 21.5, to refer to the original panel the matter raised by the United States in WT/DS126/8.  I wish to inform you that, while the Panel expects to have completed its work and issued the report to the parties by 14 January 2000, that is, within the 90 days provided for in the DSU, it does not expect to be able to circulate the report to the Members by that date due to the need for translation.