The WTO Appeals Mechanism Is Suspended, And The EU Will Propose Alternative Solutions.

The US boycott judge nominated by the World Trade Organization (WTO) has left only one judge since December 11th, resulting in the appeal body suspended. The European Union said it would propose a temporary replacement mechanism to continue to make the right to settle disputes in international trade matters.

During the 2016 election campaign, US President trump repeatedly criticized the global trade agreement, claiming that the multilateral trade agreement destroyed the US economy and said that the United States would probably give up WTO. As a result, although the United States has not yet emerged, it has weakened the WTO function since 2017.

WTO has 7 judges in the appeals agency. After the United States continues to nominate the nominees, there are only 3 judges left. The number of judges is the minimum number required to hear appeals, but there are 2 Judges remaining on the 10 day. As a result, when the member states lodge an appeal in December 11th, they will face a shortage of judges.

Phil Hogan, the EU's head of Trade Executive, said that the WTO appellate body would be suspended on the 11 day because it could not be implemented, which is a regrettable and very serious blow to the rules based international trading system.

Hogan pointed out that the EU is a staunch supporter of the multilateral trading system and believes that WTO with effective dispute settlement functions can ensure open and fair trade. The EU has proposed a temporary alternative appeal mechanism and will soon announce further information to ensure that the EU can continue to exercise its rights in international trade matters.

Although the European Union attempted to establish a binding provisional appeal mechanism, it is the solution for WTO to seek a solution for the appellate body.

WTO was established in 1995 to promote trade openness and to formulate trade rules through negotiations. However, when member states have trade conflicts due to their economic or political considerations, they can be ruled through the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).

The procedure of dispute settlement mechanism is roughly Request for Consultations, the establishment of dispute resolution group (Panel), Appellate Body (AB), execution and supervision. Among them, the dispute settlement group is similar to the first instance. The appeal is the second instance. When entering this stage, the lowest threshold requires 3 judges to hear appeals.