GENEVA: The head of the World Trade Organisation said on Thursday that member states are preparing for a shutdown of the body’s dispute settlement system, following months of deadlock triggered by the United States.

The WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), sometimes dubbed the supreme court of world trade, is in crisis due to Washington’s refusal to approve any new judges for its appellate division.

President Donald Trump’s administration has accused the DSB of overstepping its authority by issuing broad rulings that he says violate national sovereignty.

WTO members “are working hard to find a solution to the appellate body impasse in time to avoid a paralysis,” WTO director general Roberto Azevedo told reporters in Geneva.

“But they are beginning to realise that they have to work also with a scenario where no solution is achieved,” he added.

The WTO faces a December deadline when, due to mandatory retirements, the appellate body will not have enough judges to hear cases.

Trump’s trade office has previously argued that no foreign court can ever supersede the US legal system, suggesting the US would never surrender final authority in trade disputes to a non-American entity.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2019