USTR Accuses WTO Appellate Body of Overreaching Power

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) officially addressed the country’s concerns with the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In a published report, USTR accuses the Body of failure to comply with WTO rules and interpret agreements as written. Through persistent overreaching, the report states, the Appellate Body has increased its own power, at the expense of the authority of the U.S. and other WTO Members, straying far from the limited role that WTO Members assigned to it. U.S. Trade Ambassador Robert Lighthizer explained that “the conduct of the Appellate Body has converted the WTO from a forum for discussion and negotiation into a forum for litigation. The U.S. has been stalling the approval of new Appellate Body Board members, which has led to WTO to suspend the appeals process. WTO rules require at least three members to hear an appeal, and as of December, the Appellate Body has only one active member. In response, other countries have been shopping alternative approaches while trying to find common ground with the U.S. for reform.