DSB adopts reports on the “Havana Club” case

At its meeting on 1 February, the Dispute Settlement Body adopted the Appellate Body and Panel reports in the case “US — Section 211 Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998”.

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NOTE:
This summary has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat’s Information and Media Relations Division to help public understanding about developments in WTO disputes. It is not a legal interpretation of the issues, and it is not intended as a complete account of the issues. These can be found in the reports themselves and in the minutes of the Dispute Settlement Body’s meetings.

Status reports: Surveillance of implementation of recommendations adopted by the DSB

Case DS27: European Communities — Regime for the importation, sale and distribution of bananas

The EC presented its final status report. The EC said that on 19 December 2001 the EC Council had adopted a new regulation amending its banana regime. The new regulation transfers as of 1 January 2002 100.000 tons of bananas from tariff quota C (reserved for ACP imports) to tariff quota B (open to central American countries). The EC said it had thus implemented phase II of its agreement with the United States and Ecuador. Ecuador, Honduras and the US welcomed the adoption of the EC regulation.

Case DS160: United States — Section 110(5) of the US Copyright Act

The US said that it was engaged in discussions with the EC in an effort to find a positive and mutually acceptable solution. The EC expressed concern about the US' lack of progress on compliance. Australia reiterated its concern about the apparent discriminatory nature of the proposed compensation arrangements that had been agreed between the EC and the US.

Case DS136 - DS162: United States — Anti-dumping Act of 1916: United States — Anti-dumping Act of 1916

The US said that a law to repeal the 1916 Act had been introduced in Congress. The US said it would continue to work with the EC and Japan in an effort to reach a mutually satisfactory solution. The EC said that compliance in this case could only be achieved once the law was effectively repealed and pending cases terminated. Japan urged the US to promptly complete its implementation.

Adoption of report

Case DS176: United States — Section 211 Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998

The DSB adopted the Appellate Body Report and the Panel Report, as modified by the Appellate Body report. The EC welcomed the Appellate Body's confirmation that Section 211 was incompatible with the TRIPS Agreement and was found to be in breach of both most-favoured-nation and national treatment obligations. The EC said that this decision was satisfactory from a systemic point of view as it confirmed that trade names fell into the discipline of the TRIPS Agreement. The US welcomed the Appellate Body's confirmation that the TRIPS Agreement did not prevent from establishing ownership criteria for trademarks and trade names that excluded those claiming ownership through a confiscation.

Next meeting

The next regular meeting of the DSB will take place on 8 March 2002.

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