Creating fair and effective means to resolve disputes.
When the United States negotiates a trade Agreement, we expect our trading partners to abide by the rules and obligations to which they agree. Under the TPP, countries have recourse to an independent tribunal to determine whether a Party has failed to meet its obligations, and ultimately to allow suspension of benefits if a Party fails to come into compliance. The goal is for effective, timely, and transparent dispute settlement, based on facts and the rules of the Agreement. Through the TPP dispute settlement mechanism, the United States has the means to enforce the strong, high-standard obligations we are negotiating in this Agreement.
OBJECTIVES
- Establish a fair dispute settlement mechanism for resolving disputes.
- Establish a transparent dispute settlement mechanism to allow the public to follow proceedings by:
- Ensuring that submissions are made publicly available.
- Requiring hearings to be open to the public, and final decisions by panels to be made publicly available.
- Ensuring that non-governmental entities have the right to request making written submissions to panels during disputes.
- Put in place procedures to allow countries to settle disputes on matters arising under the TPP in a timely and effective manner.
RESOURCES
For more information on dispute settlement, visit WWW.USTR.GOV/TRADE-AGREEMENTS/WTO-MULTILATERAL-AFFAIRS/WTO-ISSUES/DISPUTE-SETTLEMENT
