The World Trade Organization (WTO) on July 26 named the three members for a jury that will review US anti-dumping measures on frozen shrimp imported from Vietnam.
They include Mohammad Saeed, Counsellor of Pakistan’s permanent mission to the WTO, Deborha Milstein from the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour, and Iain Sanford, Director of Australia’s International Trade Group. Mr Saeed was selected as head of the Jury.
The decision was made by WTO Director General Pascal Lamy after Vietnam and the US failed to agree on members of the panel after 60 days of discussions and Vietnam proposed that the WTO chief should designate the members of the Jury. Before making his decision, Mr Lamy had already consulted with Vietnam and the US’s representatives.
The members of the jury will work independently and receive no instructions from any government. They will check the evidence and decide who is wrong and who is right. The jury will then submit its final report on the incident after six months.
On February 1, 2010, Vietnam requested the WTO to work with the US on its anti-dumping measures against Vietnam’s frozen shrimp.
This is the first time since its entry into the WTO in early 2007 that Vietnam has called for intervention between two WTO member countries, using the WTO dispute settlement procedures as a tool to protect legitimate rights of Vietnamese businesses.
VOV
