Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement

Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement

The Ministers of Singapore, the EU, and 14 other Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) decided on 27 March on a Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) that will allow these Members to bring appeals and solve trade disputes among them, despite the current paralysis of the WTO Appellate Body. The other participating WTO Members are – Australia; Brazil; Canada; China; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; Switzerland; and Uruguay. The full text of the Ministerial statement is appended, and the MPIA provisions are attached. (166.01KB) 

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“Further to the Davos statement of 24 January 2020, we, the Ministers of Australia; Brazil; Canada; China; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; European Union; Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Mexico; New Zealand; Norway; Singapore; Switzerland; and Uruguay, have decided[1] to put in place a Multi-party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) on the basis of the attached document. This arrangement ensures, pursuant to Article 25 of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding, that any disputes among us will continue benefitting from a functioning dispute settlement system at the WTO, including the availability of an independent and impartial appeal stage.

We believe that such WTO dispute settlement system is of the utmost importance for a rules-based trading system. The arrangement is open to any WTO Member, and we welcome any WTO Member to join.

We wish to underscore the interim nature of this arrangement. We remain firmly and actively committed to resolving the impasse of the Appellate Body appointments as a matter of priority and urgency, including through necessary reforms. The arrangement therefore will remain in effect only until the Appellate Body is again fully functional.

We intend for the arrangement to be officially communicated to the WTO in the coming weeks. “

_{1 Subject to the completion of respective domestic procedures, where applicable}