Statement by U.S. Ambassador to the WTO Rita Hayes
Concerning the DSB Decision on FSC
Geneva, October 12, 2000

The DSB decided today to adopt the U.S. proposal to add a month to the time period for compliance in the Foreign Sales Corporation dispute. We believe that this decision will promote the aim of providing a mutually satisfactory solution to this dispute.

The DSB originally decided that the compliance period in the FSC dispute would end on October 1, 2000. The U.S. Congress has been working hard on legislation to amend the FSC provisions of U.S. tax law. While only a few steps remain for enactment, the process could not be completed by October 1. However, we are hopeful that it will be completed this month.

Therefore, after consulting with the European Communities, we submitted our proposal to the DSB. The proposal provides time for Congress to complete the legislative process and time for the European Communities to review the outcome of that process.

The United States would like to express its appreciation to the EC for the constructive attitude it has displayed in our attempts to avoid escalating the FSC dispute at this time. While we continue to disagree on the substantive issues involved, we at least have been able to agree on a procedure to resolve these disagreements. That is in the interests of all WTO Members.