RD has the right to appeal WTO arbitration decision

Available to the World Trade Organization (WTO), on measures of safeguards imposed by the country has generated concerns, especially because the scope and detail of the operation are unknown. Fantino Polanco, Professor of international trade of the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra (PUCMM), explains the.

Do in what stage of the process are?
We are at the stage of the "ad hoc", this is the second phase of the process of settlement of commercial disputes at the WTO.

RD and the claimant countries already exhausted a prior process of friendly consultations in which there was no agreement by that at the request of the claimants was established an "ad hoc".

The "task force" is a Committee of experts or a panel of arbitrators who knew the controversy (facts, evidence and arguments) and who had the task of analyzing if the imposed safeguard measure by u000aRepublic Dominican was compatible with the rules of the WTO, in this particular case with article XIX of the GATT and the safeguards agreement.

In October 2011 the "ad hoc" presented his interim report to the countries in dispute and on January 31, 2012 paid its final report of the dispute.

The final report, the "special group" of the WTO considered the safeguards imposed by Dominican Republic measure is inconsistent with article XIX of the GATT and the safeguards agreement. The investigation process conducted by the Dominican national authority not found: "the unexpected changing circumstances and the effect of GATT obligations that would have caused the alleged increase of imports causing serious damage"

to impose a safeguard measure massive imports could have "unforeseen and unpredictable" increased, because the understanding of u000athe WTO found that the domestic production of sacks could not foresee that such imports could increase as a result of preferential tariff relief within the framework of the free trade treaty with Central America.

And (2) "the definition of the domestic industry". This means that to understand the WTO experts the Dominican national authority not adjusted to parameters definition of percentages of representation of the domestic production of sacks.

(3) "The determination of serious injury". This means that the Dominican national authority not justified the existence of serious harm as the safeguards agreement so provides, must be taken into account as he is not an unfair practice as the dumping or subsidizing in respect of safeguarding the damage to national production that it must be serious and severe to be able be safeguarded

(4) "The exclusion of imports" u000a"from Thailand". This means that understanding of the experts of the WTO Dominican Republic not it adjusted to the provisions of the WTO safeguards agreement to exclude imports from a particular country for reasons of volume or dealt with in a less developed country.

(5) "On the argument presented by the Dominican Republic that the WTO was not competent to meet the case dealt with a dispute within an FTA", Dominican Republic in his defense argued that the WTO was not competent to hear this dispute because the same resultant era of obligations within the framework of a regional trade agreement. The WTO is not ruled on this argument.

Above the "" the WTO Panel issues understood the extent of safeguards imposed by the Dominican Republic overrides and/or undermines the benefits that the claimant countries should receive for being WTO Member u000aand the safeguards agreement.

the ad hoc group in its final report recommended RD to eliminate the imposed safeguard measure because he understood it is unwarranted.

What happens now?
The "special group" will present the final report to the WTO General Council meeting in powers of ""settlement of disputes rgano".

In the ""solution of disputes rgano"of the WTO will vote for negative consensus, that is the only way to reject this report, is that all WTO member countries will agree to reject the decision of the"ad hoc".

Regardless of that countries did not reject the adoption of the technical report of the "ad hoc", Dominican Republic has the right to oppose the adoption of the report and has the right of recourse on appeal against the final report issued by the "ad hoc" before "the"of the WTO appellate rgano", for" u000aIt has a period of 45 days after taken the report.

In the event of an appeal procedure the ""of the WTO appellate rgano"known only the merits of the case, i.e. that would only make an analysis of the right, not the facts, basically these referees re-defined the conformity of the foundations on which based its decision"Panel".

Where the "of the WTO appellate rgano" to be seized, it will examine the case and submitted to the WTO General Council meeting in powers of ""rgano solution of disputes"a new report where you can reject or approve the issued final report of the"ad hoc".

Once run out the three stages of the process (reconciliation, Panel and appellate body) and is counted with a definitive and irrecurrible report and the country in question fails to comply with the recommendation of the WTO, the affected countries may ask for to the u000aWTO to authorize them to impose "retaliatory measures" to offset the damage that they are suffering by the measure maintained by the other country knowing of the recommendation of the WTO that would eliminate that commercially measured because it was incompatible with the multilateral legal system.

It is important to note that in its technical report "Panel" does not condemn, not penalized and not monetarily punishing Dominican Republic, this because the WTO in its powers of "Diputas commercial Solver" is called just to review the case and fail on whether the disputed measures constitute an incompatibility or not with the WTO legal system.

The WTO has no jurisdiction, mandate or authority to impose sanctions, but only to analyze the case in the light of their agreements and recommend that countries implement their measures in accordance with the agreed multilateral law.

If the WTO know one case, fails the case and the Council u000aGeneral terms of reference of ""settlement of disputes rgano"adopts a report where it is determined that a country is in breach of an agreement irrecurrible, definitive manner and thereby to discriminate against another and the country in question does not cease or eliminates the practice, the affected country can ask the WTO and this may have"retaliatory measures"to compensate the damage caused by the extent commercially."

in this case that has not gone because the report has not been adopted in irrecurrible way.

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