USTR releases report reiterating critiques of defunct WTO Appellate Body

Alicia Nicholls

Any doubts on whether the United States (US) would eventually shift its stance on the now defunct World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body (AB) have been quashed with the release of a report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) reiterating the US’ longstanding grievances with the AB.

The crux of the report may be obtained from the following paragraph:

“the Appellate Body has repeatedly failed to apply the rules of the
WTO agreements in a manner that adheres to the text of those agreements, as negotiated and
agreed by WTO Members. The Appellate Body has strayed far from the limited role that WTO
Members assigned to it, ignoring the text of the WTO agreements. Through this persistent
overreaching, the Appellate Body has increased its own power and seized from sovereign nations
and other WTO Members authority that it was not provided.

The report may be accessed here.