The EU and Norway agree to a temporary replacement for the WTO appeal body

As the U.S. is still blocking the appointment of judges the Appellate Body will end operations in December.

Following a similar arrangement between Canada and the European Union (EU) agreed in July, the EU and Norway agreed on an interim appeal system in wake of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Appellate Body blockage.

The United States is still blocking the processes to appoint new judges to the WTO’s Appellate Body , which makes final rulings in trade disputes and, with judges’ mandates expiring after a set period the Body will run short of judges on December 11, 2019.

As with the agreement with Canada, this latest interim arrangement will apply to trade disputes between Norway and the EU in the event the Appellate Body is unable to hear appeals and will remain in effect until the Appellate Body is fully operational.

The WTO Dispute Settlement Body has been notified of the EU – Norway interim appeal arrangement.