WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism：A Statistical Observation
2012/5/9
The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established more than 16 years ago in 1995. Here we will focus on how the Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) operates based on a statistical observation.
Since Jan. 1, 1995, the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) has accepted a totalof 436 dispute cases. By observing the number of dispute cases the DSB hasaccepted annually (see below), the number rose consistently until its peak in 1997.Then, there were between25 to 40 cases from 1998 to 2003, and 20 cases orfewer annually after 2004, until it hit arecord low of 8 cases last year.
Number of DSU Complaints in the WTO-by Year
Year / 1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004#complaints / 25 / 39 / 50 / 41 / 30 / 34 / 23 / 37 / 26 / 19
Year / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012
#complaints / 12 / 20 / 13 / 19 / 14 / 17 / 8 / 9
According to statistics regarding use of the DSM by individual WTO member,theUnited States (the US) and the European Union (the EU) have used it the most. From 1995 to this year, theUS has raised a total of 100 dispute cases as a complainant country, and the EUhas raised a total of 86 dispute cases. Bothcountries haveaccounted for more than 42% of the total number of Dispute Settlement Understanding(DSU) complaints.As respondent countries, both the US and the EU standas the top two with the number of complaint cases against consisting of 115 and 70, respectively. Thisaccounts for more than 42% of the total number of DSU complaints.
Number of Complaints Filed by –the US (Complainant)
Year / 1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004# Filed / 6 / 17 / 17 / 10 / 10 / 8 / 1 / 4 / 3 / 4
Year / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012
# Filed / 1 / 3 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 4 / 1 / 2
Number of Complaints Filed by –the EU (Complainant)
Year / 1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004# Filed / 2 / 7 / 16 / 16 / 6 / 8 / 1 / 4 / 3 / 5
Year / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012
# Filed / 3 / 5 / 0 / 3 / 2 / 1 / 3 / 1
Number of Complaints FiledAgainst –the US (Respondent)
Year / 1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004# Filed / 4 / 8 / 10 / 6 / 11 / 11 / 6 / 19 / 6 / 7
Year / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012
# Filed / 3 / 5 / 3 / 6 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 2
Number of Complaints FiledAgainst –the EU (Respondent)
Year / 1995 / 1996 / 1997 / 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004# Filed / 8 / 4 / 4 / 9 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 6 / 8 / 4
Year / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011 / 2012
# Filed / 2 / 3 / 3 / 4 / 4 / 3 / 0 / 0
However, litigation cases against other WTO members for both the US and the EU have significantly declined since 2001. Unlike the US and the EU, developing countries have gradually become active users of the DSM after the year 2000. Among the developing countries, since Jan. 1, 1995, the number of alleged cases from the top three countries wasBrazil (25), India (21) and Mexico (21). Among the top three countries being accused were China (26), India (21) and Argentina (17).
Once developing countries began to actively use the DSM, this meant that not only were WTO members aggressively willing to use the DSM to resolve trade disputes,but also that an equal and fair opportunity was available to deal with bilateral trade disputes through a rules-oriented and legal process.
With the increase in realdispute cases, more experience was gained and more proficient litigation skills were learned, which alsoprovided guidelines for WTO members to follow. However, it is important for all WTO members to form a consensus to avoid abusing the DSM, which could lead to the prevalence of a trade protectionist atmosphere. Although the effectiveness of the overall DSM operation has been mostly positive, there are still some issues concerning aspects of the system and execution that need to be re-considered and clarified to avoid influencing the quality of case reviews and the willingness of WTO members to participate. In fact, there is surely a long way to go.
Source: WTO (latest visited May 3, 2012)