WT/DS591/6  
 
19 September 2022  
(22-6873) Page: 1/2 
  Original: English  
 
 
COLOMBIA – ANTI -DUMPING DUTIES ON FROZEN FRIES FROM  
BELGIUM, GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE PANEL  
The following communication, dated 16 September 2022, was received from the Chairperson of the 
Panel with the request that it be circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body.  
 
_______________  
 
 
On 13  July 2020, the European  Union and Colombia notified to the DSB their mutual agreement,  
"pursuant to Article  25.2 of the [DSU] to enter into arbitration under Article  25 of the DSU to decide 
any appeal from any final panel report as issued to the parties " in the above -mentioned dispute 
(Agreed Arbitration Procedures).1 In its Working Procedures for these proceedings, the Panel took 
"note of the Agreed Procedures for Arbit ration under Article  25 of the DSU in this dispute notified by 
the parties on 13  July 2020 (WT/DS591/3)  and of the joint requests of the parties to the Panel 
formulated therein".2 
 
On 29 August  2022, the Panel, having consulted with the parties, adopted t he Additional Working 
Procedures to facilitate arbitration under Article  25 of the DSU (Additional Working Procedures).3 On 
the same day, the Panel issued its Final Report to the parties and informed them that the Panel 
Report would be circulated to Membe rs, after translation into French and Spanish, on 
19 September  2022.  
 
According to paragraph  4 of the Agreed Arbitration Procedures, "[f]ollowing the issuance of the final 
panel report to the parties, but no later than 10 days prior to the anticipated date of circulation of 
the final panel report to the rest of the Membership, any party may request that the panel suspend 
the panel proceedings with a view to initiating the arbitration under these agreed procedures." Given 
that the circulation  of the Final Report was scheduled for 19  September  2022, the 10 -day deadline 
for requesting the suspension under the Agreed Arbitration Procedures would have expired on 
Friday,  9 September  2022 – an official holiday for the WTO.  
 
9 September  2022 being a WTO holiday, Colombia, on 6  September  2022, informed the Panel of its 
intention "to present the Request for Suspension envisaged in paragraph  4 of the Agreed Procedures 
for Arbitration under Article  25 of the DSU (WT/DS591/3/Rev.1) to the Panel on 
Monday  12 September  2022" and noted that it was "Colombia's understanding that, in accordance 
with the DSB Decision on 'Expiration of Time -Periods in the DSU', WT/DSB/M/7, this Request 
presented on 12  September  2022 [would] be deemed to have been filed within 10 d ays prior to the 
circulation of the final Panel Report to the WTO Membership, which is set for 19  September  2022". 
On the same date, the European Union informed the Panel that it had taken note of Colombia's 
communication and that it agreed with Colombia t hat a suspension request filed on 
12 September  2022 would be deemed to have been filed in accordance with the 10 -day deadline set 
forth in paragraph  4 of the Agreed Arbitration Procedures. On 7  September  2022, the Panel informed 
the parties that it had tak en note of the parties' communications dated 6  September  2022.  
 
 
1 Agreed procedures for arbitration under Article  25 of the DSU, WT/DS591/3 (fn omitted). The parties 
revised these procedures on 20  April 2021, WT/DS591/3/Rev.1.  
2 Working Procedures of the Panel (Panel Report, Annex  A-1), para.  33. 
3 Additional Working Pr ocedures of the Panel to facilitate arbitration under Article  25 of the DSU (Panel 
Report, Annex  A-5). WT/DS591/6  
 
- 2 - 
 
  On 12  September  2022, the Panel received a communication from Colombia requesting the Panel to 
suspend its work in this dispute in accordance with Article  12.12 of the DSU in order to facilita te 
arbitration under the Agreed Arbitration Procedures.4 According to paragraph  4 of the Agreed 
Arbitration Procedures "su ch request by any party is deemed to constitute a joint request by the 
parties for suspension of the panel proceedings for 12 months pursuant to Article  12.12 of the DSU".  
 
Upon receipt of this suspension request, on 13  September  2022, the Panel instructed the Dispute 
Settlement (DS) Registry to "transmit immediately the original English language version of the final 
Panel Report … to t he pool of arbitrators", in accordance with paragraph  2 of the Additional Working 
Procedures. Following the translation of the Panel Report into Spanish and French, and in accordance 
with paragraph  1 of the Additional Working Procedures, the Panel "transmi t[ted] the final Panel 
Report in the three working languages of the WTO (the 'Translated Report ') to the parties, 
third parties and the pool of arbitrators" on 16  September  2022.  
 
Paragraph  3 of the Additional Working Procedures provides that "[o]nce the Translated Report has 
been transmitted to the parties, third parties and the pool of arbitrators, the Panel shall grant the 
request to suspend the Panel proceedings and indicate when suspension takes effect". The Panel 
hereby informs the Disput e Settlement Body of its decision of 16  September  2022 to grant the 
request to suspend the panel proceedings effective the same day. The Panel will therefore not 
circulate its final Report to Members unless the Panel is requested to resume its work within the 
time-period that is specified in Article  12.12 of the DSU.  
 
The Panel recalls paragraph  6 of its Additional Working Procedures, which states that "[o]nce 
transmitted to the parties, third parties and the pool of arbitrators, the original final Panel R eport 
and/or the Translated Report remain confidential" until the filing of a "Notice of Appeal".  
 
In the event that a "Notice of Appeal" is filed, in accordance with paragraph  4 of the Additional 
Working Procedures, the record of the Panel proceedings wil l be transmitted to the arbitrators "as 
soon as possible" after they are appointed.  
 
Paragraph  4 of the Additional Working Procedures also requires the Panel to "consult with the 
third parties concerned with a view to transmitting, as part of the Panel re cord, the third -party 
submissions, third -party oral statements and third -party responses to questions." Pursuant to this 
provision, the Panel sought the views of the third parties by a letter dated 14  September 2022.  
 
The Panel requests that this communica tion be circulated to Members.  
 
 
__________  
 
4 Article  12.12 of the DSU provides that the Panel may suspend its work at any time at the request of 
the complaining party for a period not exceeding 12  months. This provision also indicates that if the work of 
the Panel has been suspended for more than 12 months, the authority for establishment of the Panel shall 
lapse.