On 11 April, the United States submitted a request for a compliance panel under Article 21.5 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) to examine measures adopted by the US in March 2016 with a view to bringing itself into conformity with the recommendations and rulings in US Tuna II (Mexico), DS381.
The compliance panel will determine whether these measures are consistent with the WTO agreements and if they bring the United States into compliance with its obligations under the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994. This follows a request filed by Mexico on 10 March 2016 seeking authorization from the Dispute Settlement Body to suspend tariff concessions and other obligations in the goods sector for an amount of USD 472.3 million annually. After the United States objected to the level of suspension of concessions proposed by Mexico, Mexico’s request was referred to arbitration under Article 22.6 of the DSU.
World Trade Organization 2016