Brussels, 24/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - In an effort to counter the growing protectionism displayed by Argentina since 2008, as illustrated by the affair involving its seizure of the Spanish oil company Repsol's Argentinean subsidiary YPF, the European Union is preparing a WTO (World Trade Organization) suit against the restrictive import measures taken by Buenos Aires.
According to a European source close to the dossier and quoted by the Reuters agency, the EU is planning to lodge a complaint at the WTO over Argentina's import restrictions and is seeking other trading partners to back its suit. It is likely to be “a matter of weeks” before the EU launches the case, declared an unconfirmed source working for EU Commissioner for Trade Karel de Gucht, on Tuesday 24 April.
Headed by the EU and US, around a dozen WTO countries officially denounced last March import barriers introduced by Argentina since 2008. In a common declaration, Australia, South Korea, the US, Israel, and Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey, supported by Mexico, criticised the “considerable” extension of the list of products subject to import licences in Argentina, which include laptops, white goods, air conditioners, tractors, machines and tools, cars and car spare parts, plastics, chemical products, tyres, toys, shoes, textiles and clothing, baggage, bicycles and paper products. These countries have denounced the announcement made by Argentina in January this year that it intended to make requirements stricter on accepting different products. The Argentinian regulations will create longer delays and increase costs for exporters. Several developing countries - China, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong - have also expressed their concerns. Argentina has said that these measures are compatible with WTO rules.
In a letter sent to the Argentinian minister for trade, Hector Timerman, on 19 April (see EUROPE 10600), Commissioner De Gucht denounced the series of restrictive measures on trade introduced by Argentina (to which has been added the expropriation of the oil company Repsol's Argentinian subsidiary YPF, by the Argentinian president Cristina Kirchner in the middle of April) and warned that the EU “keeps open all possible options to address this matter” at both bilateral and multilateral levels. (EH/transl.fl)