United States - Safeguard Measure on Imports
of
Large Residential Washers
Communication from the Panel
The following communication, dated 26 March
2021, was received
from the Chairperson of the Panel with the request that it be circulated to the
Dispute Settlement Body.
_______________
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 Large Residential Washers
(DS546) was established by the DSB on 26 September 2018 and composed
on 1 July 2019.
The letter of the Chairman of the Panel to the
DSB on 9 December 2019 indicated that the beginning of the Panel's
work was delayed due to the lack of available experienced lawyers in the
Secretariat, and that the Panel expected to issue its final report to the
parties in the first quarter of 2021.
The dates for issuance of the final report
indicated in that letter were based on the Panel's expectation that it would be
able to hold its substantive meetings with the parties in 2020. However, due to
the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Panel was unable to organize in-person
meetings with the parties in 2020. Though the Panel explored the possibility of
holding the first substantive meeting through virtual and other means in 2020
itself, in light of the views of the parties, the Panel decided not to do so in
2020. Due to the resultant delay in the panel proceedings, the Panel now
expects to issue its final report to the parties by the end of 2021.
I would be grateful if you would
circulate this letter to the DSB.