Max Baucus: “two weeks ago, the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body issued a decision affirming a Dispute Settlement Panel…”

“two weeks ago, the World Trade Organization's Appellate Body issued a decision affirming a Dispute Settlement Panel opinion from last December that ruled that the United States' imposition in July 1999 of restrictions on imports of lamb meat under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974 was inconsistent with our obligations under the WTO's Agreement on Safeguards. The December Panel decision was so obviously wrong in virtually every respect that one would have expected the Appellate Body to reverse the panel and recognize the U.S. International Trade Commission's decision for the well-reasoned and balanced determination that it was. Instead, the Appellate Body has once again taken it upon itself to substitute its judgment for the ITC's. This is a continuation of a troubling trend, in which WTO dispute settlement panels and the Appellate Body fail to give adequate deference to expert administrative bodies that have carefully reviewed the facts. This kind of decision risks eroding U.S. support for the WTO's dispute settlement procedures. While there is a lot not to like in the Appellate Body's decision, I am particularly outraged by the Appellate Body's conclusion that the ITC erred in concluding that lamb farmers, ranchers, and commercial feeders are properly part of the domestic industry for purposes of determining injury and threat of injury.”