United States – Conditional Tax Incentives for Large Civil Aircraft

COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PANEL

The following communication, dated 23 September 2016, addressed to the Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), is circulated in accordance with Article 12.9 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).

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Article 12.9 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), read in conjunction with Article 4.6 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement), provides that, when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report within 90 days, 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 in United States – Conditional Tax Incentives for Large Civil Aircraft (DS487) was established by the DSB on 23 February 2015 and composed on 22 April 2015. In its communication to the DSB of 29 September 2015 (WT/DS487/4), the Panel indicated that it expected to issue its report within the period of 12 months from the date of its communication. Due to a lack of available resources in the Secretariat, the Panel proceedings commenced in December 2015.

As notified to the parties, it is expected that the final report will be circulated to all Members by the end of November 2016, following translation into all three official languages.

I would be grateful if you would circulate this letter to the Members of the DSB.

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