   
  
WT/DS559/5  
 
16 December 2020  
(20-9118) Page: 1/1 
  Original: English  
 
  
EUROPEAN UNION – ADDITIONAL DUTIES ON CERTAIN PRODUCTS  
FROM THE UNITED STATES  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE PANEL  
The following communication, dated 15 December 2020 , addressed to the Chairperson of 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 shal l 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 of the DSU provides that, when a panel considers that it cannot issue its report within 
six months, it shall inform the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) in writing accordingly and indicate 
the reasons, together with an estimate of the period within which it w ill issue its report.  
 
The Panel in European Union − Additional Duties on Certain Products from the United States  (DS559) 
was established by the DSB on 21 November 2018 and composed on 25 January 2019.   
 
On 4 September 2019, the Panel informed the DSB that it expected to issue its report by the second 
half of 2020. However, d ue to the delays caused by the global COV ID-19 pandemic, the Panel now 
expects to issue its final report to the parties by the second half of 2021 .  
 
The report will only be available to the public once it is circulated to the Members in all three working 
languages of the WTO. The date of circula tion depends on completion of translation and the Panel is 
not in a position to provide an estimated circulation date at this time.  
 
I would be grateful if you would circulate this letter to the DSB.  
 
 
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