19 U.S.C. § 3537: Access to WTO dispute…

Summary

The U.S. Trade Representative must consult with Congress, the petitioner (if there is one), private advisory groups, and interested private and nonprofit groups at every stage when the United States is a party in a WTO dispute panel or appeal. The Trade Representative must also ask for and consider public comments. Soon after asking for a panel or after another country asks for one, the Trade Representative must publish a Federal Register notice that names the parties, explains the main issues and legal claims, lists the government measures or laws at issue, and asks for written public comments. The Trade Representative must use advice and comments when preparing U.S. filings. U.S. written submissions and the panel and appeals reports must be made public promptly, except for information marked proprietary or confidential by a foreign government. The Trade Representative will ask other parties for permission to release their submissions, request nonconfidential summaries if parties do not publish their filings, and keep a public file with U.S. submissions, public comments, and the panel and appeals reports.

Title 19, §3537

Customs Duties, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general

Whenever the United States is a party before a dispute settlement panel established pursuant to Article 6 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the Trade Representative shall, at each stage of the proceeding before the panel or the Appellate Body, consult with the appropriate congressional committees, the petitioner (if any) under section 2412(a) of this title with respect to the matter that is the subject of the proceeding, and relevant private sector advisory committees established under section 2155 of this title, and shall consider the views of representatives of appropriate interested private sector and nongovernmental organizations concerning the matter.

(b)Notice and public comment

In any proceeding described in subsection (a), the Trade Representative shall—

(1)promptly after requesting the establishment of a panel, or receiving a request from another WTO member country for the establishment of a panel, publish a notice in the Federal Register—

(A)identifying the initial parties to the dispute,

(B)setting forth the major issues raised by the country requesting the establishment of a panel and the legal basis of the complaint,

(C)identifying the specific measures, including any State or Federal law cited in the request for establishment of the panel, and

(D)seeking written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in the dispute; and

(2)take into account any advice received from appropriate congressional committees and relevant private sector advisory committees referred to in subsection (a), and written comments received pursuant to paragraph (1)(D), in preparing United States submissions to the panel or the Appellate Body.

(c)Access to documents

In each proceeding described in subsection (a), the Trade Representative shall—

(1)make written submissions by the United States referred to in subsection (b) available to the public promptly after they are submitted to the panel or Appellate Body, except that the Trade Representative is authorized to withhold from disclosure any information contained in such submissions identified by the provider of the information as proprietary information or information treated as confidential by a foreign government;

(2)request each other party to the dispute to permit the Trade Representative to make that party’s written submissions to the panel or the Appellate Body available to the public; and

(3)make each report of the panel or the Appellate Body available to the public promptly after it is circulated to WTO members, and inform the public of such availability.

(d)Requests for nonconfidential summaries

In any dispute settlement proceeding conducted pursuant to the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the Trade Representative shall request each party to the dispute to provide nonconfidential summaries of its written submissions, if that party has not made its written submissions public, and shall make those summaries available to the public promptly after receiving them.

(e)Public file

The Trade Representative shall maintain a file accessible to the public on each dispute settlement proceeding to which the United States is a party that is conducted pursuant to the Dispute Settlement Understanding. The file shall include all United States submissions in the proceeding and a listing of any submissions to the Trade Representative from the public with respect to the proceeding, as well as the report of the dispute settlement panel and the report of the Appellate Body.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section is comprised of section 127 of Pub. L. 103–465. Subsec. (f) of section 127 of Pub. L. 103–465 amended section 2155 of this title.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the date on which the WTO Agreement enters into force with respect to the United States (Jan. 1, 1995), see section 130 of Pub. L. 103–465, set out as a note under section 3531 of this title.

§3537 Access to Wto Dispute Settlement Process