European Communities and Certain Member States –
Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft

Recourse to Article 21.5 of the DSU by the United States

Communication from the Panel

The following communication, dated 9 October 2014, was received from the Chairman of the Panel with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).

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Article 21.5 of the Understanding on the Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) provides that the panel shall circulate its report within 90 days after the date of referral of the matter to it.

Article 21.5 of the DSU further provides that, when a panel considers that it cannot provide its report within this time frame, it shall inform the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in writing of the reasons together with an estimate of the period within which it will submit its report.

On 13 April 2012, the DSB referred the dispute European Communities and Certain Member States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft – Recourse to Article 21.5 by the United States (WT/DS316) to the original panel, if possible. The Panel was composed on 17 April 2012.^[1]

The Panel, after consultations with the parties, adopted a timetable pursuant to which it expected to issue its report in 2013. However, due to the substantive and procedural complexities of this dispute, the Panel advised that it was not possible to complete its work within that time-frame.^[2]

Having further reviewed the work that remains to be completed, the Panel now expects to complete its work by the end of 2015.

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