Restore WTO dispute settlement body, says India at MC13
NEW DELHI : New Delhi: India on Monday pressed for the revival of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) appellate body, which has remained defunct for over four years after the US refused to approve its members. At the WTO's ongoing 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, India said this should be the top priority for any reform process of the multilateral trade body.
India also pitched for effective formalization of the ongoing informal dispute settlement reform discussions among WTO members, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. With the US blocking the appointment and reappointment of its members since December 2019, the appellate body's membership has shrunk from seven to four, posing a challenge to WTO's dispute resolution mechanism.
"India reiterated its long-standing position that a credible and reliable WTO DS system is the bedrock of an equitable, effective, secure and predictable multilateral trading system. India emphasized that the outcome of any reform process should provide for the restoration of the appellate body, which remains a top-most priority for the country," the ministry added.
Typically disputes at the WTO are settled in two ways, which include parties finding a mutually agreed solution, particularly during the phase of bilateral consultations, and through adjudication, including the subsequent implementation of the panel and appellate body reports. The three main stages of the WTO dispute settlement process include consultations between the parties; adjudication by panels, and if applicable by the appellate body; and the implementation of the ruling, which includes countermeasures in the event of failure by the losing party to implement the ruling.
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