DSB holds a special meeting for aircraft subsidy dispute brought by the EC against US

The EC asked for a special meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body to be convened Thursday 2 February to request the establishment of a panel in reference to the case US — measures affecting trade in large civil aircraft

Request for panel establishment 

These are cases that have completed the consultation phase, the first stage of a dispute. When consultations have failed, member governments are entitled to ask for a panel to be set up to examine the dispute. According to the rules, the respondent can reject the first request. At the second request, a panel is automatically established.

US — measures affecting trade in large civil aircraft

The EC announced that it requested this meeting to prepare the ground for resolving a number of procedural matters that have risen in this dispute. The EC explained in its statement that during the information-gathering process under Annex V of the Subsidy and Countervailing Measures (SCM) Agreement initiated by the DSB on 23 September 2005, the US refused to provide information on 13 subsidy programmes, stating that they were not initially listed during the preliminary consultation on 6 October 2004. As a result, the EC considered that it has been deprived of its rights to access the documents essential, in particular regarding NASA and Departments of Defence subsidies, to prepare its case against the US.

To resolve this situation, the EC requested at this meeting that the DSB establish a panel and initiate further the procedures for developing information-gathering under Annex V of the SCM Agreement.

The US said that it appreciated the EC's steps to address those concerns at this DSB meeting. Notwithstanding, the US made the remarks that it had already pointed out numerous procedural deficiencies at the first DSB meeting. In addition, the US informed the DSB that it had discussions recently with the EC on some procedural questions that were raised because of some overlap between this new panel request and the EC's earlier panel request. Since the discussions have not yet reached a conclusion, the US objected to the establishment of a panel at this meeting.

The EC's panel request was therefore blocked by the US.

争端解决机构召开特别会议，应对欧盟和美国的航空器补贴之争

欧盟申请争端解决机构于2月2日，星期四召集特别会议，请求成立有关美国对大型民用航空器补贴一案的专家小组。

案件已经结束了协商阶段，即争端解决的第一阶段。协商失败后，争端各方可以要求成立专家小组来裁决争端。依据《争端解决规则与程序谅解书》规定，被请求国可以拒绝第一请求。在第二请求阶段，专家小组将自动成立。

欧盟请求此次会议能够提供解决争端中出现的的大量程序问题的依据。欧盟在其陈述中解释说，根据2005年9月23日，世贸组织争端解决机构提出的《补贴与反补贴措施协议》附件V，在资料的收集过程中，美国拒绝提供十三项补贴项目的资料，并且辩称：在2004年10月6日的初步协商中没有被请求列出这些项目。因此，欧盟认为自己被剥夺了获得重点资料的权利，尤其是有关国家航空航海以及国防部门的补贴。

为了解决这种情况，欧盟要求这次会议成立专家小组，依据《补贴和反补贴措施协议》附件V,进一步地采取相关的措施，确保资料的收集。

美国称，欧盟一系列的措施表达了对此项会议的重视，对此美国表示非常欣赏。尽管美国做出评论，指出第一次争端解决会议很多程序上的不足。此外，美国通知争端解决机构：美国和欧盟近期已就一些由于成立新专家组的请求和早期成立专家组请求部分重叠的程序性问题进行了讨论。因此，这次协商并没有达成一致的结论。所以，本次会议美国拒绝成立专家小组。

因此，欧盟要求成立专家小组的请求被美国阻断了。

The DSB establishes panels for two cases: Brazil measures affecting imports of retreaded tyres; Chile price band system and safeguard measures relating to certain agricultural products

The DSB, on 20 January 2006, established a panel to examine Brazil measures against EC imports of retreaded tyres? and a compliance panel at the request of Argentina to review the implementation in the case of Chile price band system and safeguard measures relating to certain agricultural products.

These are cases that have completed the consultation phase, the first stage of a dispute. When consultations have failed, member governments are entitled to ask for a panel to be set up to examine the dispute. According to the rules, the respondent can reject the first request. At the second request, a panel is automatically established.

The EC requested for the second time the establishment of a panel for examining Brazilian discriminatory measures against EC imports of retreaded tyres. The EC argued that the import ban was violating some of the most fundamental rules of the GATT 1994.

Brazil regretted that the EC decided to re-introduce its request for a panel. Brazil believed that by insisting, the EC demonstrated that it was counting on developing countries to get rid of large volumes of unwelcome rubber wastes in a cheap and efficient manner.
The DSB agreed to establish the Panel. Argentina, Australia, Korea, Japan and the US reserved their third-party rights.

At the end of the period given to a government to comply with a ruling, the parties to the dispute sometimes disagree on whether that government has fully complied. In such situation, the matter can be referred to the original panel who will decide whether the ruling has been applied properly.

Argentina disapproved the measures adopted by Chile in order to comply with the DSB rulings. As a result, Argentina asked for the establishment of a compliance panel. Chile contested Argentina's arguments but according to a bilateral understanding between both parties regarding procedures under DSU Articles 21 & 22, it accepted the establishment of that compliance panel (WT/DS207/16).
  
The DSB agreed to establish the compliance panel. Australia, US, Colombia and the EC reserved their third-party rights.
 

争端解决机构在两个案件中成立专家小组：巴西采取措施影响翻新轮胎进口；智利关于某些农产品的价格绑定体系和安全保障措施。

2006年1月20日，争端解决机构成立专家解决小组裁决巴西采取措施限制欧盟翻新轮胎的进口。在阿根廷请求下成立的“履行专家组”复审智利关于某些农产品的价格绑定体系和安全保障措施一案的执行。

案件已经结束了协商阶段，即争端解决的第一阶段。协商失败后，争端各方可以要求成立专家小组来裁决争端。依据《争端解决规则与程序谅解书》规定，被请求国可以拒绝第一请求。在第二请求阶段，专家小组将自动成立。

欧盟第二次请求成立专家小组裁决巴西歧视性措施限制欧盟进口的翻新轮胎。欧盟声称：进口禁令是对1994年GATT协定一些基本规则的践踏。

对于欧盟决定再次请求成立专家小组，巴西感到遗憾。巴西坚持认为欧盟的行为表明它正在依靠发展中国家，用一种便宜、有效的方式消除大量的不受欢迎的废弃橡胶。

争端解决机构同意成立专家解决小组。阿根廷、澳大利亚、韩国、日本和美国保留作为第三方的权利。

政府被给与和规则保持一致的时间的最后阶段，争端各方有时不同意政府是否已经完全遵守此规则。在这种情况下，将由“原专家组”裁定规则是否被恰当的应用。

阿根廷不同意智利为遵守DSB规则而采取的措施。结果导致，阿根廷要求成立一个“履行专家组”。智利反对阿根廷的论点，但根据争端解决机构的《双方有关程序的双边谅解协议》第21条第22款，智力接受成立“履行专家组”。

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争端解决机构同意成立履行专家小组。澳大利亚、美国、哥伦比亚和欧盟保留作为第三方的权利。

‘Cotton Four’ preparing new proposal on domestic support

The four African countries that originally proposed the Cotton Initiative will produce a proposal on cutting domestic support in the “coming days”, Benin told the Cotton Sub-Committee on 31 January 2006 in its first meeting since the 13-18 December 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference.

And meanwhile, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy has already started his consultations on the development aspects of cotton as instructed by the ministerial conference, the Secretariat reported.

The so-called Cotton Four (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali), sub-committee chairperson Crawford Falconer, and some other countries said work on domestic support will be urgently needed if members are to meet the 30 April deadline for “modalities” that was agreed in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration says that a priority objective is for cuts in trade-distorting domestic support on cotton to be deeper and quicker than those agreed for agriculture as a whole, but does not spell out how much deeper or faster.

With agreement for developed countries to eliminate export subsidies on cotton by the end of this year (2006), the main task is to set up a way to monitor this, Benin said on behalf of the Cotton Four. The four also welcomed the decision to give duty-free and quota-free market access to cotton exports from least-developed countries into developed countries’ markets.

The EU said it had proposed duty-free and quota-free market access for cotton exports from all developing countries, not only the least-developed.

The US stressed that the commitment is definite for cotton products.? Following the Hong Kong decision, the real work is on “modalities” for agriculture, the US said.

On development issues, the Secretariat reported that WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy is keen to step up his efforts as instructed by the Hong Kong decision, and has already started contacts with those concerned. His special adviser on the Doha Development Agenda will call another consultation meeting on 16 February, continuing the monitoring and exchange of information on development assistance programmes and projects affecting cotton-producing developing countries, particularly in Africa.

非洲四国将提出新的国内支持方案

首先呼吁实现棉花自由化的非洲四国，就未来有关棉花补贴将提出新的方案。非洲四国之一的贝宁在继2005年11-13日香港部长会议后，于2006年1月31日召开的首次会议中通知棉花小组委员会。

世贸组织秘书处称，与此同时，世贸组织总干事拉米通过部长会议已就有关棉花发展问题开始了指导性的协商。

所谓“棉花四国”（贝宁、布基纳法索、乍得、马利），小组委员会主席、和一些其他的国家认为，各成员要在4月30日的最后期限内达到在香港部长会议上达成的共识，解决国内的支持是迫切的需要。

香港部长宣言宣称，扭曲贸易的支持棉花生产的国内补贴的削减将比各成员将要达成一致的一般公式要求的更快和更具雄心﹔但是其更快和更具雄心没有得到清楚的界定。

贝宁站在棉花四国的立场上认为，会议已达成共识，在2006年底发达国家将取消对出口棉花的补贴，现在首要的任务是建立对此的监督机制。棉花四国也欢迎会议作出的另一决定，即在市场准入方面，发达成员将给予最不发达成员免关税、免配额的待遇。

欧盟说，欧盟已经提议在棉花出口的市场准入方面，发达多家不仅要给予最不发达成员免关税、免配额的待遇，也应该给发展中国家这样的待遇。

美国强调对棉花制品的承诺已经很明确。遵循香港会议作出的决定，实质性的工作是关于农业谈判的模式，美国声称。

有关发展的议题，世贸组织秘书处称，世贸组织总干事拉米通过香港会议的决定正急切地作指导性的努力。并且已经着手备受关注的议题。他的关于多哈发展议程的专业顾问将于2月16日召开另一个协商会议，继续协商有关影响棉花制品的发展中国家，尤其是非洲国家的发展援助项目和方案的监督和信息交流。