According to a trade official in Geneva, where the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is located, the United States once again opposed the proposal made by the majority of WTO members to make up for the vacant seats in the Appellate Body of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism (also known as Appellate Body judges), according to a trade official in Geneva, the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
According to the trade official, at the meeting, Mexico, on behalf of 121 of the 164 WTO members, once again put forward a proposal to start the selection process for six vacant seats in the Appellate Body of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. The representative of Mexico, speaking on behalf of the majority of WTO members who supported the proposal, said that the number of WTO members seconding and submitting the proposal reflected the common concerns of all parties about the current situation of the Appellate Body of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. The representative of Mexico stressed that the suspension of the appellate body has seriously affected the integrity of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and damaged the best interests of the WTO members.
The trade official said the U.S. representative reiterated at the meeting that the United States was still unable to support the proposal to initiate the selection process for six vacant seats in the Appellate Body of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, given that the United States' systemic concerns about the Appellate Body of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism have not been resolved.
According to the trade official, representatives of nearly 20 WTO members spoke at the meeting, reiterating that the deadlock in the selection of appellate body members of the WTO dispute settlement mechanism must be resolved as soon as possible, and a well functioning appellate body should be re established. The representatives of these members pointed out that the lack of an effective appellate body has made it impossible for more and more WTO members to exercise their fair and binding dispute settlement rights through the two-tier trial system in the dispute settlement mechanism.
Recently, several representatives of the 23 WTO members who have joined MPIA have spoken and urged other members to consider joining the MPIA as an alternative to the second instance function of the Appellate Body in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism.