On 6 October 2022 a notification of appeal was filed by Colombia of the Report of the Panel in Colombia – Anti-Dumping Duties on Frozen Fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands (DS591). This is the first notification of appeal under Article 25 of the WTO Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) pursuant to the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA). The parties have requested the arbitrators to issue the award within 90 days of the filing of the notice (4 January 2023).

The award will be the first issued under the MPIA. On 25 July 2022, an appeal arbitration award was issued in Turkey – Certain Measures Concerning the Production, Importation and Marketing of Pharmaceutical Products Arbitration Under Article 25 of the DSU (DS583). That was the first appeal arbitration to be concluded in light of the inability of the Appellate Body to hear appeals. Although it was not conducted under the MPIA (as Turkey is not a participating Member), it was conducted pursuant to agreed procedures under Article 25 of the DSU that were very similar to those established for the purposes of the MPIA.

The MPIA is an interim contingency measure based on Article 25 of the DSU in order to preserve the essential principles and features of the WTO dispute settlement system, which include its binding character and two levels of adjudication through an independent and impartial appellate review of panel reports. It was established by 16 WTO Members on 27 March 2020, and has since grown to 25 Members, including: Australia; Benin; Brazil; Canada; China; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; European Union; Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Macao, China; Mexico; Montenegro; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway; Pakistan; Peru; Singapore; Switzerland; Ukraine; and Uruguay. The pool of 10 standing arbitrators was recently extended for two years, and the next review is scheduled for 31 July 2024.

Tereposky & DeRose LLP regularly provides advice and acts as counsel in international trade disputes, including WTO dispute settlement proceedings. If you have any questions about the foregoing subject, please do not hesitate to contact us.