§3533 Dispute settlement panels and procedures

Summary

The President must review the list of people who can serve on WTO dispute panels every year and include that list and the names of Appellate Body members in the annual report under section 2213(a). The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) must work to make sure people on the roster are well qualified and include experts in topics covered by the Uruguay Round Agreements, and must tell the President about people other countries nominate. The USTR must push the WTO to adopt conflict-of-interest rules for panel and Appellate Body members and report progress in the annual report under section 3534. When a WTO panel is started about whether a U.S. federal or state law follows the Uruguay Round Agreements, the USTR must quickly tell the appropriate congressional committees what the dispute is (including the request details, legal basis, and the specific U.S. law or measure involved), who is on the panel, and whether any panel member was chosen without consensus. If there is an appeal, the USTR must promptly notify those committees of the issues on appeal and who on the Appellate Body will review the panel report. When a panel or Appellate Body report is circulated to WTO members, the USTR must notify the committees, consult with them about any appeal, and if the report is adverse to the United States, consult about whether to implement it, how to do so, and how much time will be needed. If a panel or the Appellate Body finds a U.S. department or agency regulation or practice inconsistent, that regulation or practice may not be changed to comply until several steps happen: the congressional committees are consulted; the USTR seeks advice from private sector advisory committees under section 2155; the agency publishes the proposed change and explanation in the Federal Register for public comment; the USTR gives the committees a report describing the proposed change, the reasons, and a summary of advice received; the USTR and the agency consult the committees about the final content; and the final rule is published in the Federal Register. The final rule may not take effect before the end of the 60-day period that starts when those consultations begin, unless the President decides an earlier date is in the national interest. During that 60-day period, the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance may vote to show agreement or disagreement, but that vote does not bind the agency. This rule-change process does not apply to the International Trade Commission. Before the WTO conduct the review of dispute-settlement rules called for in the Decision on the Application adopted on April 15, 1994 together with the Uruguay Round Agreements, the USTR must consult with the congressional committees on U.S. policy for that review.