INTRODUCTION

Complaint of the European Communities

On 10 November 2000, the European Communities requested consultations with the United States pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (“DSU”), Article XXII:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (“GATT 1994”), and Article 30 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (“SCM Agreement”), regarding countervailing duties (“CVDs”) imposed by the United States on imports of certain corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products originating in Germany, in particular, the sunset review of these CVDs.

The European Communities and the United States held consultations on 8 December 2000, but failed to reach a mutually satisfactory solution.

On 5 February 2001, the European Communities requested further consultations with the United States, regarding certain aspects of the procedure followed by the United States in sunset reviews, both as such and as applied in the sunset review in question, in particular, the evidentiary standards applied for the self-initiation of these reviews.

The European Communities and the United States held further consultations on 21 March 2001, but failed to reach a mutually satisfactory solution.

On 8 August 2001, the European Communities requested the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article 6 of the DSU, Article XXIII of GATT 1994, and Article 30 of the SCM Agreement.

Establishment and Composition of the Panel

The Dispute Settlement Body (“DSB”) established a panel on 10 September 2001, with standard terms of reference. The terms of reference of the Panel are: