China News Service, March 28. According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce, on March 27, China, the European Union and more than ten other WTO members jointly issued a ministerial statement and decided to establish a multi-party temporary appeal and arbitration arrangement in the WTO.
This arrangement will use the arbitration procedures set out in Article 25 of the WTO's Understanding on Dispute Settlement Rules and Procedures to hear dispute cases filed by the participants during the suspension of the appeals body. At present, the parties have reached agreement on the text of the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement.
The dispute settlement mechanism is one of the core functions of the WTO and plays an important role in maintaining the stability and predictability of the multilateral trading system. The Appellate Body is a permanent body specialized in hearing appeal cases, and is an important part of the dispute settlement mechanism. As individual WTO members continue to obstruct the selection of members of the Appellate Body, the Appellate Body has been stalled since December 11, 2019, which has brought a heavy blow to the multilateral trading system.
At present, the establishment of a multi-party interim appeal and arbitration arrangement is conducive to maintaining the operation of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and the rules-based multilateral trading system, showing the confidence and support of the international community in the multilateral trading system. China will work with other participants to inform the WTO of the arrangement at an early date, promote its formal implementation as soon as possible, and welcome other WTO members to participate.
The multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement is an interim measure during the suspension of the appellate body. The ultimate goal is to start the selection of the appellate body members and restore the normal operation of the appellate body. The participants promised in the ministerial statement that they will continue to make a firm and active push to resolve the deadlock in the selection of the appellate body as a priority. China, together with other WTO members, will continue to promote the early restoration of the normal operation of the appellate body and maintain a rules-based multilateral trading system.