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TWN Info Service
on WTO and Trade Issues (Jan24/15) Geneva, 29 Jan (D. Ravi Kanth) — The World Trade Organization is likely to fail to accomplish an outcome in the ongoing informal discussions on reform of the WTO’s dispute settlement system (DSS) at its 13th ministerial conference (MC13) beginning in Abu Dhabi on 26 February, said people familiar with the development. According to paragraph four of the Outcome Document of MC12 held in Geneva in June 2022, trade ministers acknowledged “the challenges and concerns with respect to the dispute settlement system including those related to the Appellate Body, recognize the importance and urgency of addressing those challenges and concerns, and commit to conduct discussions with the view to having a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all Members by 2024.” That mandate on DSS reform now hangs in limbo following the US position to continue the discussions, said people familiar with the development. At the regular Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) meeting on 26 January, the US said “as we approach MC13, we are in favor of neither speeding too quickly to an outcome that overlooks the needs of certain members, nor artificially slowing down the discussions by imposing constraints that limit rather than encourage constructive dialogue.” The US, which triggered the DSS reform discussions after making the Appellate Body dysfunctional in December 2019, said “difficult issues remain to be addressed.” The “difficult issues”, according to the US, “include the needs of developing country members and LDCs, but also on critical substantive areas where “judicial” overreach has damaged the functioning of the WTO and altered the Members’ rights and obligations.” While several developing countries have resorted to dispute settlement more frequently for safeguarding their rights, many other members of the Global South are not known to have used the dispute settlement system that often, said people familiar with the discussions. +
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