PUBLIC LAW 103-465—DEC. 8, 1994 108 STAT. 4835 SEC. 127. ACCESS TO THE WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCESS. 19 USC 3537. (a) IN GENERAL. — Whenever the United States is a party before a dispute settlement panel established pursuant to Article 6 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, the Trade Representative shall, at each stage of the proceeding before the panel or the Appellate Body, consult with the appropriate congressional committees, the petitioner (if any) tmder section 302(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2412) with respect to the matter that is the subject of the proceeding, and relevant private sector advisory committees established under section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2155), and shall consider the views of representatives of appropriate interested private sector and nongovernmental organizations concerning the matter. (b) NOTICE AND PUBLIC COMMENT.—In any proceeding described in subsection (a), the Trade Representative shall— (1) promptiy after requesting the establishment of a panel. Federal or receiving a request from another WTO member country pufucation for the establishment of a panel, publish a notice in the Federal Register— (A) identiJ^'ing the initial parties to the dispute, (B) setting fortii the major issues raised by the country requesting the establishment of a panel and the legal basis of the complaint, (C) identifying the specific measures, including any State or Federal law cited in the request for establishment of the panel, and (D) seeking written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in the dispute; and (2) take into account £my advice received from appropriate congressional committees and relevant private sector advisory committees referred to in subsection (a), and written conunents received pursuant to paragraph (1)(D), in preparing United States submissions to the panel or the Appellate Body. (c) ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS.— In each proceeding described in subsection (a), the Trade Representative shall— (1) make written siibmissions by the United States referred to in subsection (b) available to the public promptiy after they are submitted to the panel or Appellate Body, except that the Trade Representative is authorized to withhold from disclosure any information contained in such submissions identified by the provider of the information as proprietary information or information treated as confidential by a foreign government; (2) request each other party to the dispute to permit the Trade Representative to make that party's written submissions to the panel or the Appellate Body available to the public; and (3) make each report of the panel or the Appellate Body available to the public promptiy after it is circulated to WTO members, and iniona the public of such availability. (d) REQUESTS FOR NONCONFIDENTL\L SUMMARIES.—In any dis- §ute settlement proceeding conducted pursuant to the Dispute ettiement Understanding, the Trade Representative shall request each party to the dispute to provide nonconfidential summaries of its written submissions, if that party has not made its written submissions public, and shall make those summaries available to the public promptiy after receiving them.
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