YES We show the termination of the TRS R: f(x,f(a(),a())) -> f(f(x,a()),x) -- SCC decomposition. Consider the dependency pair problem (P, R), where P consists of p1: f#(x,f(a(),a())) -> f#(f(x,a()),x) p2: f#(x,f(a(),a())) -> f#(x,a()) and R consists of: r1: f(x,f(a(),a())) -> f(f(x,a()),x) The estimated dependency graph contains the following SCCs: {p1} -- Reduction pair. Consider the dependency pair problem (P, R), where P consists of p1: f#(x,f(a(),a())) -> f#(f(x,a()),x) and R consists of: r1: f(x,f(a(),a())) -> f(f(x,a()),x) The set of usable rules consists of (no rules) Take the reduction pair: max/plus interpretations on natural numbers: f#_A(x1,x2) = max{x1 + 1, x2} f_A(x1,x2) = max{1, x1 - 1, x2 - 3} a_A = 6 The next rules are strictly ordered: p1 We remove them from the problem. Then no dependency pair remains.