Statements by the United States at the WTO Dispute Settlement Body Meeting

Geneva,
September 25, 2007

Item 1.  SURVEILLANCE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY THE DSB

A.  UNITED STATES – SECTION 211 OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS ACT OF 1998:  STATUS REPORT BY THE UNITED STATES (WT/DS176/11/ADD.58)

• The United States provided a status report in this dispute on September 13, 2007, in accordance with Article 21.6 of the DSU.
  
  
• As noted in the status report, a number of legislative proposals that would implement the DSB’s recommendations and rulings in this dispute have been introduced in the current Congress, in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.
  
  
• The Administration continues to work with Congress to implement the DSB’s recommendations and rulings.

[Second Intervention]

• Regarding the EC’s statement, the United States regrets that the EC is again suggesting that U.S. actions in this dispute have somehow undermined the authority of the TRIPS Agreement.  The United States fails to understand how its commitment to implement the DSB recommendations and rulings in this dispute and its efforts to comply, as noted by the EC in its reference to the various legislative proposals currently before the U.S. Congress, could undermine the “authority” of the TRIPS Agreement.  To the contrary, these affirm Members’ commitments to the TRIPS Agreement.
  
  
• With respect to the interventions by other Members expressing “systemic” concerns, the record shows that the United States has fully complied in the vast majority of its disputes.  In that connection, we would like to recall that at our meeting last month, the United States announced that it had implemented the DSB’s recommendations and rulings in four disputes. 
  
  
• As for the remaining few, including the dispute under discussion, we are actively working towards compliance.

B.  UNITED STATES – ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES ON CERTAIN HOT-ROLLED STEEL PRODUCTS FROM JAPAN:  STATUS REPORT BY THE UNITED STATES (WT/DS184/15/ADD.58)

• The United States provided a status report in this dispute on September 13, 2007, in accordance with Article 21.6 of the DSU.
  
  
• As of November 23, 2002, the U.S. authorities had addressed the DSB’s recommendations and rulings with respect to the calculation of antidumping margins in the hot-rolled steel antidumping duty investigation at issue in this dispute.  Details are provided in the document numbered WT/DS184/15/ADD.3.
  
  
• The U.S. Administration will work with Congress with respect to the recommendations and rulings of the DSB that were not already addressed by the U.S. authorities by November 23, 2002.

C.  UNITED STATES – SECTION 110(5) OF THE US COPYRIGHT ACT:  STATUS REPORT BY THE UNITED STATES (WT/DS160/24/ADD.33)

• The United States provided a status report in this dispute on September 13, 2007, in accordance with Article 21.6 of the DSU.
  
  
• The U.S. Administration will work closely with the U.S. Congress and continue to confer with the European Communities, in order to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution of this matter.
  
  
• In this regard, we appreciate theEC’s statement at the August 31, 2007 meeting that it remains prepared to work with the U.S. to seek a mutually satisfactory solution to this dispute.  We share the EC’s goal of discussing how such a solution could be achieved.

Item 2.  UNITED STATES – CONTINUED DUMPING AND SUBSIDY OFFSET ACT OF 2000: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPTED BY THE DSB

A.  STATEMENTS BY CANADA, THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND JAPAN

• As the United States has already explained at previous DSB meetings, the President signed the Deficit Reduction Act into law on February 8, 2006.  That Act includes a provision repealing the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000.
  
  
• Thus, the United States has taken all actions necessary to implement the DSB’s recommendations and rulings in these disputes.
  
  
• Regarding comments concerning CDSOA disbursements, we are surprised by the assertion that the United States will not have implemented the DSB’s recommendations and rulings until the last CDSOA distribution is made and the EC’s specific claims of breach today.  Of course, such questions are for panels to decide.
  
  
• With respect to comments regarding further status reports in this matter, those Members who have inscribed this item on today’s agenda are, of course, free to do so, but the United States fails to see what purpose would be served by further submission of status reports repeating the progress the United States made in the implementation of the DSB’s recommendations and rulings.

Item 3.  CHINA – MEASURES AFFECTING THE PROTECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

A.  REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANEL BY THE UNITED STATES (WT/DS362/7)

• At the meeting held on August 31, we briefly described our concerns with three aspects of the Chinese legal regime for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.  We do not propose to repeat that description today.
  
  
• We have taken note of China’s statement at the August meeting, including China’s comments about the efforts it has made to develop and enforce its IPR regime.  As we have said before, the United States recognizes that China has made the protection of intellectual property rights a priority, and that China has taken active steps to improve IPR protection and enforcement.
  
  
• The fact remains, however, that bilateral discussions on the specific matters described in the U.S. panel request have not resulted in a mutually agreeable solution to our concerns.
  
  
• We therefore once again request that the DSB establish a panel to examine the matters set forth in the U.S. panel request.

Item 4.  UNITED STATES – LAWS, REGULATIONS, AND METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING DUMPING MARGINS (“ZEROING”) (WT/DS294/20/ADD.6)

A.  RECOURSE TO ARTICLE 21.5 OF THE DSU BY THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES:  REQUEST FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANEL (WT/DS294/25)

• The United States is disappointed that the EC is seeking the establishment of a panel. However, pursuant to our understanding with the EC, which was circulated to the DSB in document WT/DS294/21, the United States will accept establishment of a panel today. 
  
  
• As the United States informed the EC during consultations, the United States has complied fully with the recommendations and rulings of the DSB.  The United States is confident that the panel will agree.
  
  
• The United States also wishes to note that not all of the measures in the EC panel request are measures taken to comply with the DSB’s recommendations and rulings, and are therefore not within the scope of the Article 21.5 proceeding.
  
  
• With regard to the EC suggestion that the United States should have filed another status report, we explained at the last DSB meeting that the United States completed the last investigation still pending, involving Stainless Steel from Italy.  On that basis, the United States also informed the DSB that it had implemented the recommendations and rulings of the DSB in this dispute.
  
  
• The United States is therefore surprised to hear the EC suggest that the United States is under a continuing obligation to provide a status report.  The United States is not aware of any Member that continues providing status reports after it has informed the DSB that it has implemented the DSB's recommendations and rulings. 
  
  
• The EC is no exception in this regard.  For example, the EC has not provided status reports all these many years in Hormones and Bananas, the two longest running disputes in WTO history, which are currently the subject of dispute settlement proceedings over compliance.

 

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