. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS152/11
2 February 1999
(99-0387)
Original:  English
UNITED STATES – SECTIONS 301-310 OF THE TRADE ACT OF 1974
Request for the Establishment of a Panel
by the European Communities
The following communication, dated 26 January 1999, from the Permanent Delegation of the
European Commission to the Chairman of the Disput e Settlement Body, is circulated in accordance
with Article 6.2 of the DSU.
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I have the honour to request, on behalf of the European Communities, the establishment of a
panel pursuant to Article XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) andArticles 4 and 6 of the Dispute Settlement Understa nding (DSU)  with respect to Title III, chapter 1
(sections 301-310) of the United States Trade Ac t of 1974, as amended (19 U.S.C., paragraphs 2411-
2420).
By imposing specific, strict time limits within which unilateral determinations must be made
that other WTO Members have failed to comply with their WTO obligations and trade sanctions must
be taken against such WTO Members, this legislation does not allow the United States to comply withthe rules of the DSU and the obligations of GATT 1994 in situations where the Dispute Settlement
Body (DSB) has, by the end of those time limits , not made a prior determination that the WTO
Member concerned has failed to comply with its WTO obligations and has not authorised the
suspension of concessions or other obligations on that basis.
For the above reasons, the European Communities considers that this legislation is
inconsistent with the following WTO provisions:
- Articles 3, 21, 22 and 23 of the DSU;
- Article XVI:4 of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the  World Trade
Organization;  and
- Articles I, II, III, VIII and XI of GATT 1994.
Through these violations of WTO rules, this legislation nullifies or impairs benefits accruing,
directly or indirectly, to the European Communities under GATT 1994.  This legislation also impedes
important objectives of GATT 1994 and of the WTO.
On 25 November 1998, the European Communities requested consultations with the
United States on this matter, pursuant to Article 4 of the DSU and Article XXII:1 of GATT 1994.WT/DS152/11
Page 2
This request was circulated in document WT/DS152/1.  Consultations were held on 17 December
1998.  Those consultations did not result in a mutually agreeable solution.
The European Communities requests that the pa nel be established with standard terms of
reference.
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