. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/DS353/9 
8 April 2011 
 (11-1754) 
 Original:   English 
  
 
UNITED STATES – MEASURES AFFECTING TRADE  
IN LARGE CIVIL AIRCRAFT  
(SECOND COMPLAINT) 
 
Communication from the European Union
 
 
  The following communication, dated 1 April 201 1, from the European Union addressed to the 
Chair of the Dispute Settlement Body, is being circulated to Members.  
_______________ 
 
  Pursuant to Article 16.4 and Article 17.1 of the DSU  the European Union hereby notifies to 
the Dispute Settlement Body its decision to appeal  to the Appellate Body certain issues of law 
covered in the Panel Report and cer tain legal interpretations devel oped by the Panel in the dispute 
United States – Measures Affecting Trade in  Large Civil Aircraft (Second Complaint)  (WT/DS353).  
Pursuant to Rule 20(1) of the Working Procedures for Appellate Review , the European Union 
simultaneously files this Notice of Appeal  with the Appellate Body Secretariat. 
  We realise that some Members (excluding the United States and Third Participants, whom we 
informed beforehand) may be surprised by the EU d ecision to be the first to appeal some (limited) 
aspects of this Panel Report.  However, the timin g of this appeal reflects an assessment by the 
European Union that we believe will not come as a surprise to Member s that have been following 
developments:  in all the circumstances the Eur opean Union could not reasonably be expected to 
accept further delays in this dispute, the unwarrant ed passage of time having become a matter of very 
serious concern. 
 
 At the same time, the European Union would like to take this opportunity to assure Members 
that it recognises that there are two pending appeals
1 and one panel report that remains the subject of a 
DSB Decision2, and that these relatively unusual circumstances may have implications for the 
Appellate Body, the other Members involved in those cases, and the system as a whole, particularly 
as regards the timing of the hearing and issuan ce of the Appellate Body Report in this appeal .  As 
in other cases, we consider that the Appellate Body should take the time it needs to complete its work 
in this case, notwithstanding the 60 and 90 day rules in Article 17.5 of the DSU .  We also accept that, 
with respect to the hearing and issuance of the re port, a reasonable balance will need to be found 
between the interests of the European Union in this case and these other interests.   
 
                                                      
1 DS371 (AB-2011-1) Thailand – Customs and Fiscal Measures on Cigarettes from the Philippines ; 
and DS397 European Communities – Definitive Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Iron or Steel Fasteners 
from China  (AB-2011-2). 
2 DS399 United States – Measures Affecting Imports of Certain Passenger Vehicle and Light Truck 
Tyres from China . The Panel Report is to be adopted or appealed prior to 25 May 2011. WT/DS353/9 
Page 2  
 
   However, we believe that this balance can  only properly be struck  based on an objective 
assessment of the particular issues to be decided in this appeal, once the written procedure is 
completed .  We believe that the issues will only b ecome fully apparent once the Appellant 
Submissions are filed; and, subject to sight of the US Other Appellant Submission, we are in principle 
surrendering any additional time for the European Union to file its own Appellee Submission .   
 
 Thus, the timing of this appeal merely reflects a wish by the European Union to move without 
delay and according to the normal timetable provided for in the Working Procedures for Appellate 
Review  to the point at which the Appellate Body w ill be in possession of all the information necessary 
for it to organise itself in an appropriate way, havi ng fair regard to the interests of all Members. 
 
__________