   
  
WT/DS615/6  
 
16 February  2023 
(23-1079) Page: 1/1 
  Original: English  
 
 
UNITED STATES  – MEASURES ON CERTAIN SEMICONDUCTOR AND OTHER PRODUCTS, 
AND RELATED SERVICES AND TECHNOLOGIES  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES  
The following communication, dated 9 February  2023, was received from the delegation of the 
United  States  with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).  
 
_______________  
 
 
The United States has received your letter of January 3, 2023, requesting to join in the consultations 
requested by China as circulated in document WT/DS615/1.  
 
Article 4.11 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes  
("DSU") provides that a Member that considers it has a substantial trade interest in the consultations 
shall be joined in the consultations "provided that the Member to which the request for consultations 
was addressed agrees that the claim of substantial interest is well -founded." The United States notes 
that the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Pengh u, Kinmen, and Matsu ("TPKM") refers to its 
semiconductor industries' 26 percent share of global semiconductor revenue in 2021 and close 
bilateral trade ties with the United States.   
 
Pursuant to Article 4.11 of the DSU, and without prejudice to WTO rules  that issues of national 
security are not susceptible to review or capable of resolution by WTO dispute settlement,1 the 
United States is accepting your request to join these consultations.  
 
 
__________  
 
1 See Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994; Article XIV bis of the General 
Agreement on Trade in Services ; and Article 73 of the Agreement on Trade -Related Aspects of Intellectual 
Property Rights.  