BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany aims to find a permanent solution for the composition of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Appellate Body by June, a spokeswoman for Berlin's foreign ministry said on Wednesday after the United States effectively sealed the fate of the body.
The Appellate Body needs a mininum of three judges to function but the terms of two of the three remaining members of the appeals panel expired on Tuesday without replacements due to a blocking strategy by the U.S.
"We will jointly with the EU (...) work towards a temporary solution for the time being," the German foreign ministry spokeswoman said, adding that she hoped a permanent solution could be found before a WTO ministerial conference in June.
U.S. President Trump's administration has been blocking appointments to the WTO's seven-member Appellate Body that rules on trade disputes for more than two years.