Brussels, 28/08/2012 (Agence Europe) - Following in the wake of the EU, the US and Japan, Mexico is in turn initiating WTO procedure against Argentina's import restrictions.
On 24 August, Mexico submitted to the WTO a request for consultation with Argentina on its current regime for the importation of goods and its measures which, it states, restrict the imports of goods and establish discrimination between national products and imported products without any justification under the WTO agreement.
This dispute initiated by Mexico (DS 446 at the WTO) is similar to procedures begun by the EU in recent weeks (DS 438) and also by the United States (DS 444) and Japan (DS 445) for the same reasons.
The EU was the first to call on the WTO, on 25 May, to open talks with Argentina on some of its measures relating to the importation of goods. Brussels above all challenges the declarations required as a condition for the approval of imports, and the various types of licences required for the importation of certain goods. The EU considers such measures incompatible with several provisions of the WTO agreements, including the 1994 GATT, the agreement on procedures for importation licences, and the agreement on trade-related investment measures (TRIMs).
The United States and Japan then, on 21 August, separately notified the WTO secretariat of a request for consultation with Argentina concerning importation restrictions caused by a system of non-automatic import licences and other related measures.
The request for consultation made at the WTO is the formal point of departure for the dispute settlement procedure. If consultations have not allowed an amicable resolution of the conflict to be reached within 60 days, then the complainant may ask for the question to be put to the jurisdiction of a special panel. (EH/transl.jl)