WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS146/7
WT/DS175/7
8 November 2001
(01-5510)
Original:  English
INDIA — MEASURES AFFECTING THE AUTOMOTIVE SECTOR
Communication from the Chairman of the Panel
The following communication, dated 5 November 2001, addressed to the Dispute Settlement
Body (DSB), is circulated in accordance with Article 12.9 of the Dispute Settlement
Understanding (DSU).
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Article 12.8 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of
Disputes (DSU) provides that the period in which a panel shall conduct its examination, from the date
that the composition and terms of reference of the panel have been agreed upon until the date the final
report is issued to the parties to the dispute, shall, as a general rule, not exceed six months.
Article 12.9 states that when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report within six
months, it shall inform the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in writing of the reasons for the delay
together with an estimate of the period within which it will issue its report.
At its meeting of 17 November 2000, the DSB agreed that, in accordance with Article 9.1 of
the DSU, the panel established on 27 July to examine the complaint by the United States, contained inWT/DS/175/4, should also examine the complain t by the European Communities, contained in
WT/DS/146/4. The Panel was constituted on 24 November 2000.
While the Panel had hoped to complete its work by the end of summer (see WT/DS/146/6;
WT/DS/175/6), it has not, due to various scheduling delays, been able to do so. The Panel expects thatthe final report will be available for circulation by the end of the third week of December.
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