§3537 Access to Wto Dispute Settlement Process

Summary

When the United States is a party in a World Trade Organization dispute panel under Article 6, the U.S. Trade Representative must consult with the appropriate congressional committees, the petitioner (if any), and relevant private advisory groups, and must consider views from interested private and nongovernmental groups. After asking for a panel or after another country asks for one, the Trade Representative must promptly publish a notice in the Federal Register saying who the parties are, what the main issues and legal claims are, which specific measures or laws are at issue, and must ask the public for written comments. The Trade Representative must use the committees’ advice and public comments when preparing U.S. filings. The Trade Representative must make U.S. written submissions public promptly after filing them, except for information marked proprietary or confidential by a foreign government. The Trade Representative should ask other parties for permission to publish their submissions and request nonconfidential summaries if those parties do not publish. Panel and Appellate Body reports must be made public promptly after they are sent to WTO members. The Trade Representative must keep a public file for each dispute with U.S. submissions, a list of public submissions received, and the panel and Appellate Body reports.