United States – Safeguard Measure on Imports of
Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products

Communication from the Panel

The following communication, dated 21 December 2020, was received from the Chairman of the Panel with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).

_______________

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 in United States – Safeguard Measure on Imports of Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Products (DS562) was established by the DSB on 15 August 2019 and composed on 24 October 2019.

The Panel, after consultations with the parties, initially adopted a timetable pursuant to which it expected to issue its report to the parties by the end of 2020. However, in light of further delays in the proceeding caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Panel now expects to issue its final report to the parties around the middle of 2021.

The report will only be available to the public once it is circulated to the Members in all three working languages of the WTO. The date of circulation depends on completion of translation and the Panel is not in a position to provide an estimated circulation date at this time.

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