Indonesia – Safeguard on Certain Iron or Steel Products

Communication from the Panel

The following communication, dated 8 June 2016, 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 Indonesia – Safeguard on Certain Iron or Steel Products (WT/DS490) was established by the DSB on 28 September 2015 at the request of Chinese Taipei, and the Panel on Indonesia – Safeguard on Certain Iron or Steel Products (WT/DS496) was established by the DSB on 28 October 2015 at the request of Viet Nam. The Panel was composed on 9 December 2015.

The beginning of the Panel's work has been delayed as a result of a lack of available experienced lawyers in the Secretariat. The Panel does not expect to issue its final report to the parties before the second half of 2017.

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