Disputes That Tax Incentives Granted By The State Of Washington Were Inappropriate

The United States filed a notice of appeal on 16 December 2016 in the case brought by the European Union in “United States — Conditional Tax Incentives for Large Civil Aircraft” (DS487).

Parties to a dispute can appeal a panel's ruling. Appeals have to be based on points of law, such as legal interpretation — they cannot re-open factual findings made by the panel. Each appeal is heard by three members of a permanent seven-member Appellate Body comprising persons of recognized authority and unaffiliated with any government.

The Appellate Body membership broadly represents the geographic range of WTO membership, with each member appointed for a fixed term. Generally, the Appellate Body has up to 3 months to conclude its report.

Few details were offered by the WTO about the appeal. Boeing said when the WTO ruled last month that it had received a prohibited subsidy from Washington State in connection with its 777X airliner that it was confident that the ruling would be reversed.

(Source: WTO news release, Reuters)

FMI: www.wto.org