EU welcomes Vietnam to WTO’s alternative arbitration arrangement

The arrangement guarantees participants access to a dispute settlement system, in the absence of a functioning Appellate Body in the WTO. It ensures that rules can be enforced and trade disputes resolved in an orderly way, without appealing 'into the void’ at the WTO.

Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Maroš Šefčovič said: “I welcome Vietnam among the MPIA’s participants. The MPIA supports rules-based trade, and each new adhesion increases the stability of multilateral trading relations. I stress that the MPIA is open to all WTO members.”

Background

The MPIA was put in place in 2020 and has since proven its effectiveness in many WTO disputes, most recently in the EU dispute with China on the enforcement of intellectual property rights. 

Under the MPIA, appeals are heard by arbitrators selected randomly from the pool of 10 set up by the countries participating in the MPIA. It comprises persons of recognised authority, with demonstrated expertise in law, international trade and the WTO agreements. It is open to all members, to offer a practical tool for appeal arbitration, pending the restoration of a reformed and fully functioning WTO dispute settlement system.

As of 1 June 2025, the MPIA has an updated pool of appeal arbitrators to ensure that appeals are heard by independent arbitrators of the highest calibre.

The current MPIA members are Australia, Benin, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union (and its Member States), Guatemala, Hong Kong (China), Iceland, Japan, Macao (China), Mexico, Malaysia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Pakistan, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Uruguay and Vietnam.