(not just for US-related decisions, of course - he's sabotaged it for everyone). From later in the article:
Since the Trump administration has refused to appoint new members to the WTO’s appellate body, the next step could involve the U.S. simply appealing this panel report “into the void,” effectively ending the legal nature of this dispute, said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
The WTO Appellate Body Crisis: How We Got Here and What Lies Ahead?
The Appellate Body is an important element of the Dispute Settlement System of the World Trade Organization (WTO), hearing appeals against the findings of the panel established by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB). The Appellate Body (AB) ideally consists of seven members including the Chairman. But on 10th December 2019, this body went into crisis as two out of its three remaining members’ four-year terms came to an end. In this article, the authors dive into this crisis and try to analyze what led to such an impasse, and what political, economic, or social factors have influenced what is happening now in the dispute settlement mechanism. Also, how much the current administration of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, is responsible for this crisis shall be addressed. Further, the authors will consider what steps forward should be taken towards an amicable solution so that the Appellate Body can operate as a functional and fair part of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement System.
The United States of America and the protectionist agenda-driven regime under President Trump is to blame for the crisis in the Dispute Settlement System (DSS) given the Appellate Body not having an adequate number of members. The United States is blocking the appointment of new members to the Appellate Body (AB). The US Ambassador to the WTO stated that the US does not approve the appointment of new persons to the vacant Appellate Body seats. However, this is not the first time this has happened. The Obama administration, blocked the appointment of Jennifer Hillman for a second term in 2011, claiming the WTO has failed to protect American interests. Again in 2016, the US blocked the reappointment of Seung Wha Chang. Thereafter, in 2018, the Trump administration blocked the reappointment of Shri Baboo Chekitan Servasing.
Shockingly, the United States has played such a central role in dismantling the DSS and plunging it into paralysis but simultaneously promotes itself as the primary advocate of the multilateral trading system. The US claims that the Appellate Body functions in a manner that is actively unfair and detrimental to its interests.
One of the United States’ main accusations against the Appellate Body is that it has overstepped its jurisdiction time and again, creating law and indulging in “Judicial Activism”. According to the US, the AB is creating new rules, which cannot be done, as the recommendations and rulings “cannot add to or diminish the rights and obligations provided in the covered agreements”, as per Article 3.2 of the DSU.
https://www.jurist.org/commentary/2020/04/rathore-bajpai-wto-appellate-body-crisis/
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