The European Commission does not rule out an appeal against the decision of WTO arbitrators on dispute with Russia on energy cost adjustments, and it will delay the need to cancel relevant anti-dumping measures, the commission's spokesperson said
BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2020) The European Commission does not rule out an appeal against the decision of WTO arbitrators on dispute with Russia on energy cost adjustments, and it will delay the need to cancel relevant anti-dumping measures, the commission's spokesperson said.
A group of WTO arbitrators last Friday supported Russia in a dispute with the European Union, saying that the EU's energy cost adjustments method used in anti-dumping investigations violates the organization's rules. The panel of arbitrators recommended that the EU bring its measures in line with WTO rules. Russia expects that the EU will faithfully execute the WTO decision and that access of Russian goods to the European market will significantly improve, Economic Development Minister Maksim Reshetnikov said.
"The Commission takes note of the panel report. ... The report confirms the legality of specific EU anti-dumping rules under the WTO law, while raising certain issues as regards their practical application," a Commission spokesperson said.
The European Commission will analyze the detailed rationale provided in the report and reserves right regarding possible next steps in the dispute, he said, answering about the commission's reaction to the report and the possibility of filing an appeal.
Under the WTO rules, the decision of the group of arbitrators can be appealed to the appellate body. However, it has not functioned since the end of last year due to the position of the United States: the body cannot be formed in full, the process of selecting judges is blocked.
The European Union may appeal against the decision of the World Trade Organization in this dispute with Russia, however, until the WTO appellate body is formed, there will be no one to consider such a statement, but it will not have to execute the decision of the organization's arbitrators before the ruling on appeal is made, a trade source in Geneva told Sputnik earlier.
Now there is an alternative procedure for appealing the decisions of the WTO arbitrators, which was previously agreed between the EU and 21 other members of the organization. However, since Russia is not a party to this agreement, it cannot be applied in this case, the source explained.
