I - INTRODUCTION

Summary

Complaints of Canada and Mexico

1.1 On 1 and 17 December 2008, respectively, Canada and Mexico independently requested consultations with the United States, pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994), Article 14 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement), Article 11 of the Agreement of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and Article 7 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin, with respect to the measures and claims set out below. On 7 May 2009, Canada and Mexico each requested supplemental consultations with the United States.

1.2 Canada and Mexico requested, pursuant to Article 4.11 of the DSU, to join in each other's consultations.3 Nicaragua and Peru requested to join in the consultations requested by Canada, and Peru also requested to join in the consultations requested by Mexico. The United States informed the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) that it accepted the requests of Canada and Mexico.

1.3 Consultations were held between each complaining party and the United States. The United States and Canada held their consultations on 16 December 2008 and 5 June 2009. The United States and Mexico held their consultations on 27 February 2009 and on 5 June 2009. None of these consultations led to a mutually satisfactory resolution.