WTO Panel Reports

  • The reports provided on this page consist of all the reports circulated to WTO Members (incorporating any official corrigenda). The list is updated immediately after each new report is circulated.
  • The "Decision" column provides a link to an abbreviated version of the report without the argument sections or annexes. The "Full Report" column provides a link to a version of the report with argument sections and annexes included.
  • Click on a column header to SORT. Drag column header to top left to GROUP. Click on to FILTER by term/date. Enter date in m/d/yyyy format. (See additional instructions and explanatory notes.)
  • The total number of disputes, in terms of officially established DS Numbers, is indicated at the bottom of the table (as the number of Records). The number is recalculated each time a search is performed.
  • All complaints are in PDF format. To view the PDF files, you will need the free Acrobat Reader, which can be downloaded from Adobe.
  • The last column is a link to our Dispute Settlement Commentary for the decision, and is only accessible to subscribers.

 

 

 

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Field Explanation

"Decision"

 This field indicates the abbreviated title of the dispute, and provides a link to the Appellate Body report.

"Complainant(s)"

 This field indicates the WTO Member(s) who brought the complaint.  Note that when filtering, "United States" and "European Union/Communities" must be spelled out, rather than abbreviated as EC/EU/U.S.
"Respondent" This field indicates the WTO Member against whom the complaint was brought.  Note that when filtering, "United States" and "European Union/Communities" must be spelled out, rather than abbreviated as EC/EU/U.S.

"DS Number"

 This field indicates the official WTO DS Number for the dispute.
"Circulation Start Date"
and
"Circulation End Date"		 To filter by "Circulation Start Date" and "Circulation End Date" fields, simply select the desired date for either or both entries. If a selection is made for "Circulation Start Date" only, the filter will retrieve all awards circulated after that date.  If a selection is made for "Circulation End Date" only, the filter will retrieve all awards circulated before that date.  If selections are made for both "Circulation Start Date" and "Circulation End Date," the filter will retrieve all awards circulated between those dates.
"Adoption Start Date"
and
"Adoption End Date"		 To filter by "Adoption Start Date" and "Adoption End Date" fields, simply select the desired date for either or both entries. If a selection is made for "Start Date" only, the filter will retrieve all awards adopted on or after that date.  If a selection is made for "Adoption End Date" only, the filter will retrieve all awards adopted on or before that date.  If selections are made for both "Adoption Start Date" and "Adoption End Date," the filter will retrieve all awards adopted on and between those dates.
"Agreements" This field indicates the WTO agreements at issue.  The full titles of the abbreviations used can be found below.
"Panelists" This field indicates the last name of the panelist who served on an individual appeal.
"Appeal?" This field indicates whether the panel report has been appealed.

Explanatory Notes

  • This list contains both normal disputes and Article 21.5 compliance disputes, the latter indicated by "Article 21.5" in the dispute name.

  • In the India - Autos dispute, the panel report was appealed, but the appeal was later withdrawn.  The AB report does not contain any substantive findings, and simply summarizes the procedural aspects of the dispute that occurred prior to withdrawal.

  • Some panel reports that have been circulated contain no findings, and simply report that a mutually agreed solution was reached: EC - Butter, EC - Scallops (Complaint by Canada), EC - Scallops (Complaint by Chile/Peru), Japan - Laver Quotas, U.S. - DRAMS, Article 21.5, Korea - Bovine Meat, Canada - Additional Duties, Mexico - Additional Duties, U.S. - Steel and Aluminum (Complaint by Canada), U.S. - Steel and Aluminum (Complaint by Mexico) and Canada - Sale of Wine (Australia).  For these cases, the main link is to the full panel report.

  • For several disputes, multiple panel reports were issued.  For these disputes, the table lists each of the reports individually.

  • In the U.S. - Steel Safeguards (2003) dispute, the panel issued eight separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 10.725.  "... the Panel decides to issue its Reports in the form of one document constituting eight Panel Reports. For WTO purposes, this document is deemed to be eight separate reports, each of the reports relating to each one of the eight complainants in this dispute.  ... This single document ... contains a common set of Findings in relation to each of the claims that the Panel has decided to address.")

  • In the Canada - Wheat (2004) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 6.2: "In response to a question posed by the Panel, the parties indicated that they did not wish the two Panels to issue separate reports in separate documents. The two Panels saw no compelling reason to proceed differently and therefore decided to issue their separate Reports in the form of a single document.")

  • In the EC - Biotech Products (2006) dispute, the panel issued three separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 7.6: "... we decided to prepare and issue one single document constituting three separate panel reports.")

  • In the China - Auto Parts (2008) dispute, the panel issued three separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 2.7).

  • In the EC - IT Products (2010) dispute, the panel issued three separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 2.4).

  • In the China - Raw Materials (2011) dispute, the panel issued three separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 8.1).

  • In the Phillipines - Distilled Spirits (2011) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 8.1).

  • In the U.S. - COOL (2011) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 2.11).

  • In the Canada - Renewable Energy/Feed-In Tariff (2012) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See para. 8.1).

  • In the EC - Seal Products (2013) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. See Cover Note).

  • In the China - Rare Earths (2014) dispute, the panel issued three separate panel reports in one single document. (See Cover Note).

  • In the Argetina - Import Measures (2014) dispute, the panel issued three separate panel reports in one single document. (See Cover Note).

  • In the U.S. - COOL, Article 21.5 (2014) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See Cover Note, paras. 1.14, 8.1).

  • In the China - HP-SSST (2014) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See Cover Note).

  • In the U.S. - Tuna II (Mexico), Article 21.5 II (2017) dispute, the panel issued two separate panel reports in one single document. (See paras. 7.4, 8.1).

  • In the Australia - Plain Packaging (2018) dispute, four WTO Members brought claims, and four panel reports were issued in a single document. Two of the panel reports were adopted, while two of the panel reports were appealed. In the table above, the adopted panel reports are listed separately from the appealed panel reports, with both links going to the single panel report document.

  • In the Panelists column, the first name listed is the Chairperson of the panel.  The next two names are the two other Members of the panel.

  • For those reports that have been adopted, Adoption Date provides the date the report was adopted by the DSB.  Please note that the date on the cover page of the report itself is the Circulation Date.

  • The "Agreements" column indicates which of the covered agreements were the subject of findings and conclusions by the panel.  The full titles of the abbreviations used above are:

AD - Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Antidumping Agreement)

Agriculture - Agreement on Agriculture

ATC - Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

BOP Understanding - Understanding on Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the GATT 1994

Customs - Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation Agreement)

DSU - Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (Dispute Settlement Understanding)

Enabling Clause - Differential and More Favourable Treatment Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries

GATS - General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

GATT - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

GPA - Agreement on Government Procurement

Licensing - Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures

Origin - Agreement on Rules of Origin

Safeguards - Agreement on Safeguards

SCM - Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

SPS - Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement)

TBT - Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement)

TRIMs - TRIMs Agreement (Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures)

TRIPS - Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)

WTO - Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement)