Appellate Body

See also: Dispute Settlement Body

The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTOAB) is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals from reports issued by panels in disputes brought on by WTO members.[1] The WTOAB can uphold, modify or reverse the legal findings and conclusions of a panel, and Appellate Body Reports, once adopted by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), must be accepted by the parties to the dispute. The WTOAB has its seat in Geneva, Switzerland. It has been termed by at least one journalist as "effectively the supreme court of world trade".[1]

Since 2019, when the Donald Trump administration blocked appointments to the body, the Appellate Body has been unable to enforce WTO rules and punish violators of WTO rules.[2][3] Subsequently, disregard for trade rules has increased, leading to more trade protectionist measures.[3][4] The Joe Biden administration has maintained Trump's freeze on new appointments.[3]

  1. ^ a b "WTO permits U.S. to use long-outlawed policy to calculate anti-dumping tariffs on softwood lumber". The Globe and Mail Inc. 9 April 2019.
  2. ^ Hopewell, Kristen (2024). "The (surprise) return of development policy space in the multilateral trading system: what the WTO Appellate Body blockage means for the developmental state". Review of International Political Economy. 31 (4): 1245–1270. doi:10.1080/09692290.2024.2303681. ISSN 0969-2290.
  3. ^ a b c "How Trump Could Deal Another Blow to Already Hobbled WTO". Bloomberg News. 2023-09-04.
  4. ^ "At WTO, growing disregard for trade rules shows world is fragmenting". Reuters. 2023.