UNITED STATES – CERTAIN MEASURES ON STEEL AND ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS RECOURSE TO ARTICLE 25 OF THE DSU
Document: RECOURSE TO ARTICLE 25
Date: 21 January 2022
Document codes: WT/DS548/19
Complainant: EU
Respondent: U.S.
Third parties: Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, Venezuela
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. I:1, II:1(a), II:1(b), X:3(a), XI:1, XIX:1, XIX:2  GATT 1994Art. 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1, 7, 9.1, 11.1(a), 11.1(b), 12.1, 12.2, 12.3  SafeguardsArt. XVI:4  Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization

UNITED STATES – CERTAIN MEASURES ON STEEL AND ALUMINIUM PRODUCTS
RECOURSE TO ARTICLE 25 OF THE DSU
The following communication, dated 17 January 2022, from the delegation of the United States and
the delegation of the European Union to the Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated
in accordance with Article 25.2 of the DSU.

The European Union and the United States hereby notify the Dispute Settlement Body that they
have mutually agreed pursuant to A rticle 25.2 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) to resort to arbitration in accordance with the provisions
of that Article regarding the matter pending before the panel in United States – Certain Measures
on Steel and Aluminum Products (DS548). The parties respectfully request the Director -General to
assist in the composition of the arbitrator as set out in the annexed agreed procedures. The parties
also request the Director-General to provide Secretariat support as appropriate for this proceeding.

Upon the composition of the arbitrator, the arbitration shall be immediately and indefinitely
suspended, and the dispute before the panel in United States – Certain Measures on Steel and
Aluminum Products (DS548) shall be immediately terminated through withdrawal of the complaint
and notification by the parties to the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) pursuant to the DSU.
Accompanying this letter is an annex containing agreed procedures for the Article 25 proceeding .
Please circulate this letter and its annex to the Dispute Settlement Body.

Annex - Agreed Procedures and Timetable for Article 25 Arbitration

1. The parties recall that they have mutually agreed pursuant to Article 25.2 of the Understanding
on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) to resort to arbitration in
accordance with the provisions of that Article regarding the m atter pending before the panel in
United States – Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminum Products (DS548) (WT/DS548/14), which
matter is incorporated into these procedures by reference.

2. The arbitration proceedings shall not move forward until the arbit rator is fully composed in
accordance with the parties' mutually agreed procedures. The parties respectfully request that the
Secretariat immediately contact the panelists in the panel proceeding referenced in paragraph 1 to
determine their availability to serve as members of the arbitrator in this proceeding, and inform the
parties accordingly. If available, they shall be appointed to the arbitrator with effect from the date
of the Secretariat's letter to the parties informing them of such availability. Sh ould any individual
panelist not be available to serve as a member of the arbitrator, the parties may agree on a
replacement for that individual, who shall be appointed to the arbitrator by agreement of the parties
with effect from the date on which the parties notify the Secretariat thereof. Should the parties not
agree on a replacement individual, the parties respectfully request the Director -General to appoint
a replacement within one week of a request to that effect by the complaining party.

3. Once the arbitrator is fully composed, the arbitration proceedings shall be suspended immediately
and indefinitely. The arbitration shall remain suspended unless the complaining party notifies the
arbitrator of the resumption of the arbitration. The complaining party may not notify such a
resumption before 1 November 2022.

4. If the arbitration resumes, the complaining party shall immediately provide the arbitrator and the
responding party electronic copies of both parties ' submissions to the panel. Submissions shall
include all written and oral submissions (that is, including responses to questions and comments
thereon) as filed in writing with the panel, including exhibits.

a. The parties additionally request that any other internal documents that were not available
or not yet available to the parties in the panel proceedings be immediately transferred by
the Secretariat from the record of the panel proceedings to the record of the arbitration
proceedings.

b. The arbitrator shall contact the third parties to the dispute before the panel in United
States – Certain Measures on Steel and Aluminum Products (DS548) to seek their written
consent to permit the arbitrator to receive copies of their third -party written and oral
submissions to the panel. To the extent that a third party provides such consent in writing,
the arbitrator shall communicate that consent to the parties, and the complaining party shall
provide to the arbitrator and the responding party electronic copies of the panel submissions
by that third party.

c. If the responding party considers that any panel submission – whether by a party or
consenting third-party – was not submitted to the arbitrator by the complai ning party, the
responding party shall provide the arbitrator and the complaining party electronic copies of
that submission. Any disagreement as to whether the appropriate submissions have been
provided to the arbitrator shall be decided by the arbitrator.

5. If the arbitration resumes, the arbitrator shall resume adjudicating the matter at issue before the
panel at the point at which the panel proceedings were terminated. The arbitration proceedings shall
be completed following the rules, procedures and practices on panel proceedings that would have
applied to the panel proceedings, save as otherwise expressly provided in this agreement.

6. The phrase "for a period not to exceed 12 months" in Article 12.12 of the DSU shall not apply to
these arbitration proceedings.

7. The arbitrator shall develop a schedule, in consultation with the parties.