The Appellate Body (AB) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is in a period of severe crisis. Though generally composed of seven members, the forum’s composition has now dropped below three, the minimum number required to hear any new appeal. At its root, this deadlock arises out of the United States’ veto against any further appointments to the AB. However, it is important to understand the potential fallout likely to occur when approaching solution-oriented discussions from this perspective. This article hypothesizes that the crisis is not limited merely to AB members’ appointment but originates from a threat to core WTO tenets of mutual trust and multilateralism. In this context, it argues that the Multi-Party Interim Appeal (MPIA) Arbitration Procedure is a mere ‘band-aid’ solution that promotes complacence within Member States and distracts attention from the structural WTO transformations necessary to escape from the current impasse. Further, the article finds that the legal and practical feasibility of the procedure is suspect, and thus there is an urgent need to explore alternative means to restore a functioning multilateral trade disputes mechanism.