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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Dec25/08) Geneva, 2 Dec (D. Ravi Kanth) — The European Union has announced its decision to terminate an ongoing trade dispute against China at the World Trade Organization, stating that “key objectives behind this dispute have been met.” In a communication (WT/DS610/14) circulated to WTO members on 1 December, the EU announced that it is terminating dispute settlement proceedings in the case DS610, “China – Measures Concerning Trade in Goods.” “The European Union (EU) hereby notifies the Dispute Settlement Body that, considering that the key objectives behind this dispute have been met and relevant trade has resumed, it no longer considers it necessary to pursue its complaint in DS610,” the communication stated. The dispute dealt with measures allegedly imposed by China on the importation of goods from, and exportation of goods to, the European Union. The EU initiated the dispute against China in January 2022 concerning measures attributable to China that restricted the trade in goods from or to Lithuania or linked to Lithuania. According to the EU, beginning in early 2021, importers of products originating in Lithuania and/or transiting through Lithuanian ports and/or with some other link to Lithuania began encountering restrictions on securing customs clearance for their goods to enter Chinese territory. Subsequently, China formalized import bans for products that had already been blocked by suspending the acceptance of import declarations from Lithuania, the EU charged. The EU claimed that the measure or series of measures at issue appeared to be inconsistent with: * Articles I:1, V:6, X:3(a), XI:1, and XVII of the GATT 1994; * Article 1.2 of China’s Accession Protocol, in conjunction with paragraphs 46 and 342 of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China; * Articles 7 and 10 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement; and * Articles 2 and 8 and paragraph 1(a) of Annex C of the SPS Agreement. A panel was established in January 2023 at the request of the EU to review its claims. According to information posted on the WTO website, at its meeting on 27 January 2023, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) established a panel. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Turkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Viet Nam reserved their third-party rights to the dispute. During the panel composition process, the parties agreed on the nominations of two panel members but could not agree on the third. On 4 April 2023, the EU requested the Director-General to compose the panel. On 18 April 2023, the Director-General determined the panel’s composition, including the two members whose nominations were agreed upon by the parties. On 4 July 2023, the EU and China informed the DSB that they had agreed to Procedures for Arbitration under Article 25 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) in this dispute. The procedures were entered into to give effect to the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), with the objective of setting a framework for an Arbitrator to decide on any appeal from a final panel report, if the Appellate Body was unable to hear it. On 25 January 2024, the chair of the panel informed the DSB that the panel had granted the EU’s request to suspend its work pursuant to Article 12.12 of the DSU for an indeterminate period, effective from that date. The chair noted that if the panel’s work were suspended for more than 12 months, the authority for its establishment would lapse. On 29 January 2025, the chair of the panel informed the DSB that, following the resumption of its work on 24 January 2025, the panel had granted the EU’s request of 27 January 2025 to suspend its work again pursuant to Article 12.12 of the DSU, effective from 27 January 2025. +
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