WTO Dispute Settlement: Stages and Pending U.S. Activity Before the Dispute Settlement Body


 

Publication Date: November 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Trade

Type:

Abstract:

World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries resolve disputes pursuant to the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), which establishes the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to administer dispute proceedings and contains the rules and procedures that apply to these proceedings. Since the inception of the DSU in January of 1995, there have been 350 complaints filed. Of these complaints, the United States has been actively involved, either as a complainant or defendant, in slightly more than half, or 178 of these cases. This report briefly describes the various stages of the WTO dispute settlement process, and provides a statistical overview of the pending cases in which the United States is a party. This report will be updated as events warrant.