Argentina--Measures Affecting Imports of Footwear, Textiles, Apparel and Other Items Joel P. Trachtman Download the Complete Survey (RTF Format) WTO Appellate Body Report: Argentina--Measures Affecting Imports of Footwear, Textiles, Apparel and Other Items, AB- 1998-1, WT/DS56/AB/R (98-0000), adopted by Dispute Settlement Body, 22 April 1998. Argentina, Appellant; United States, Appellee; European Communities, Third Participant. Division: El-Naggar, Feliciano and Matsushita. Major Topics Addressed by Appellate Body: Interpretation of Tariff Bindings; Relationship of IMF Commitments to WTO Obligations; Procedure for Submission of Evidence. 1. Abstract This Appellate Body decision addresses an important issue with respect to the interpretation of tariff bindings: whether if an ad valorem tariff is bound, a specific tariff may be maintained to the extent that the effective tariff is lower than the bound ad valorem rate. The Appellate Body adopts a formalist, positivist, sovereignty-preserving approach to interpretation, but largely upholds the result reached by the Panel's more teleological interpretation. It concludes that the Argentine specific tariff program violates Argentina's obligations under article II of GATT. This decision also begins to address the difficult problem of the relationship between WTO legal obligations and other international legal obligations. Although the other legal obligation raised by Argentina in this case--ostensible commitments to the IMF--have a rather unique nature, the Appellate Body's approach is instructive. The Appellate Body rejected Argentina's claimed defense because the IMF obligations (i) were not shown to be legally binding, (ii) did not raise an irreconcilable conflict with WTO law, and, most importantly for future cases, (iii) were not received into the WTO legal system. Finally, the Appellate Body approved the exercise of discretion by the Panel in managing the process of presentation of evidence.
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