The WTO Appellate Body crisis

On 10 December, two members of the highest dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organisation, the Appellate Body, are retiring. As the US has been blocking the appointment of new members since 2017, the Appellate Body, as of today, won’t be able to fulfil its tasks. The shutdown of the Appellate Body carries the risk that the entire dispute mechanism of the WTO collapses. The discontent of the US with the WTO’s dispute settlement system (DSS) is not new. The US is especially dissatisfied with judicial overreach, the WTO’s rulings in anti-dumping cases and the slow process of the entire DSS. However, the data shows that the US is not in a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis other countries in the rulings of the WTO. Hence, a more strategic reason to strip the Appellate Body of its powers is that the US wants to settle international disputes again according to the GATT regime, the predecessor of the WTO. Under GATT, large trading blocs will have the upper hand over smaller ones and dictate the rules of the trading game.