United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office National Security and International Affairs Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-08-09 monographic deposited born digital 121 p. GA 1.13:NSIAD-00-210 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210 P0b002ee18037523b f:ns00210 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210 NSIAD-00-210 Dispute settlement Restrictive trade practices Foreign trade agreements Foreign trade policies International organizations International economic relations Tariffs International trade regulation WTO Dispute Settlement System Letter Report NSIAD Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement system, focusing on the: (1) outcome and commercial impact of completed cases involving the United States; and (2) major issues that have emerged in using the system.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) overall, the results of the WTO's dispute settlement process have been positive for the United States; (2) GAO's examination of 42 completed cases involving the United States shows that most led to changes in foreign laws, regulations, and practices that offer commercial benefits to the United States; (3) conversely, none of the changes the United States has made in response to WTO disputes have had major policy or commercial impact to date, though the stakes in several were important; (4) however, a ruling that U.S. tax provisions violated export subsidy rules has potentially high commercial consequences, but the United States has not fully determined how to comply with the ruling; (5) in addition, WTO rulings have upheld major trade principles important to the United States, such as requirements that imported goods must be treated in the same way as domestic goods in applying internal taxes and regulations; (6) four major issues surrounding the dispute settlement system have emerged; (7) these issues are: (a) how the dispute settlement system has affected U.S. sovereignty; (b) to what extent WTO members found to be in violation of rules are complying with WTO rulings; (c) how quickly the system resolves disputes; and (d) how open the WTO's proceedings are; (8) concerns over sovereignty have centered on whether rulings would weaken U.S. protections against unfair trade and on health, safety, and the environment; (9) so far, this possibility has not proved to be the case, but concerns remain; (10) with regard to compliance, members have generally changed their practices to comply with WTO rules, and the rate of compliance with decisions in U.S. cases is 75 percent, slightly better than that under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; (11) further, while many U.S. complaints were resolved quickly, most complaints that went through the WTO panel or appellate process took longer than called for in the timetables set forth in the WTO agreements; (12) although the dispute settlement system has become more open and transparent since it was established in 1995, the public still has limited information about and input into the organization's proceedings; and (13) the United States has met resistance from other WTO members in seeking greater openness in the process. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210/html/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210/pdf/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210.pdf GAO/NSIAD-00-210 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-NSIAD-00-210 Letter Report GAO/NSIAD-00-210; World Trade Organization: Issues in Dispute Settlement; Dispute settlement Restrictive trade practices Foreign trade agreements Foreign trade policies International organizations International economic relations Tariffs International trade regulation WTO Dispute Settlement System Volume 114 Page 251 114 Stat. 251 Public Law 101-162 Public Law 104-114 Public Law 104-172 Public Law 106-200