EUROPEAN UNION – ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES ON BIODIESEL
FROM ARGENTINA

Communication from the Panel

The following communication, dated 18 December 2015, was received from the Chairperson of the Panel with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body.

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Article 12.8 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) provides that the period in which a panel shall conduct its examination, from the date that the composition and terms of reference of the panel have been agreed upon until the date the final report is issued to the parties to the dispute, shall, as a general rule, not exceed six months.

Article 12.9 of the DSU provides that, when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report within six months, it shall inform the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in writing accordingly and indicate the reasons, together with an estimate of the period within which it will issue its report.

The Panel on European Union – Anti-Dumping Measures on Biodiesel from Argentina (WT/DS473) was established by the DSB on 25 April 2014 and composed on 23 June 2014. 

The Panel, after consultations with the parties, initially adopted a timetable pursuant to which it expected to issue its report by the end of 2015. However, in light of the complexity of the legal and factual issues that arise in this dispute, the Panel now expects to issue its final report to the parties by the end of February 2016.

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