United States
– Origin Marking Requirement
Communication from the United States
The following communication, dated 19 November 2020, from the delegation of the United States to
the delegation of the Russian Federation, is circulated to the Dispute
Settlement Body (DSB) at the request of the United States.
_______________
The United States has received
your letter dated November 13, 2020, requesting to join in the consultations
requested by Hong Kong, China, as circulated in document WT/DS597/1.
Article 4.11 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of
Disputes provides that a Member other than the consulting Members
that considers it has a substantial trade interest shall be joined in the
consultations "provided that the Member to which the request for
consultations was addressed agrees that the claim of substantial interest is
well-founded." The request for consultations by Hong Kong, China, does not
concern the marking of goods produced in the Russian Federation, and the
Russian Federation's request to join the consultations does not even seek to
explain its claim of substantial trade interest.
Without prejudice to whether the
consultations request raises issues of national security not susceptible to
review or capable of resolution by WTO dispute settlement, the United States
does not consider that the Russian Federation's claim of a substantial trade
interest in these consultations is well-founded. The United States is thus declining
your request to join these consultations.