INTRODUCTION

Complaint by China

On 17 September 2012, China requested consultations with the United States pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Article XXIII:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), Article 30 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM Agreement), and Article 17 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (AD Agreement) with respect to the measures and claims set out below.

Consultations were held on 5 November 2012. These failed to resolve the dispute.

Panel Establishment and Composition

On 19 November 2012, China requested the establishment of a panel pursuant to Articles 4.7 and 6 of the DSU with standard terms of reference. At its meeting on 17 December 2012, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) established a panel pursuant to the request of China in document WT/DS449/2, in accordance with Article 6 of the DSU.

The Panel's terms of reference are the following:

On 21 February 2013, China requested the Director-General to determine the composition of the panel, pursuant to Article 8.7 of the DSU. On 4 March 2013, the Director-General accordingly composed the Panel as follows:

Australia, Canada, the European Union, India, Japan, Russian Federation, Turkey, and Viet Nam notified their interest in participating in the Panel proceedings as third parties.

Panel Proceedings

General

After consultation with the parties, the Panel adopted its Working Procedures on 14 March 2013 and its timetable on 28 March 2013.

The Panel held a first substantive meeting with the parties on 2-3 July 2013. A session with the third parties took place on 3 July 2013.