I. INTRODUCTION

1.1 On 24 November 2009, the Republic of Korea ("Korea") requested consultations pursuant to Article XXII:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994"), Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes ("DSU") and Article 17 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ("Anti-Dumping Agreement"), concerning the United States’ alleged application of the practice known as “zeroing” of negative dumping margins in calculating final margins of dumping in its investigations of three products, namely stainless steel plate in coils ("SSPC") from Korea; stainless steel sheet and strip in coils ("SSSS") from Korea; and diamond sawblades and parts thereof ("diamond sawblades") from Korea. Korea and the United States held consultations on 22 December 2009 and on 2 February 2010, but failed to resolve the dispute.

1.2 On 8 April 2010, Korea requested the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article XXIII of the GATT 1994, Articles 4 and 6 of the DSU and Article 17.4 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement. The Dispute Settlement Body ("DSB") established a panel at its meeting on 18 May 2010.