russian federation – ADDITIONAL DUTIES ON
CERTAIN PRODUCTS
FROM THE UNITED STATES
Communication from the Panel
The following
communication, dated 23 January 2023, 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 12.8 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 Russian
Federation − Additional
Duties on Certain Products from the United States (DS566) was established by the DSB on
18 December 2018 and composed on 25 January 2019.
On 16 December 2021[1],
the Panel informed the DSB that it had decided to wait until in-person
substantive meetings were possible to complete its work, and that it expected
to issue its Final Report to the parties not earlier than the second half of 2022.
In January 2023, the Panel consulted the
parties again on the way forward in these proceedings. Taking into account the
parties' views, the Panel is not currently in a position to set dates for the
next steps in the proceedings. Accordingly, the Panel now expects to issue its
Final Report to the parties not earlier than the end of 2023.
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.
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