Brussels, 10/09/2012 (Agence Europe) - Argentina, which has been brought before the WTO by the EU and the United States over its export restrictions, is continuing its counter-attack by opening two dispute settlement procedures against American measures applied to its exports of meat and lemons, following the one against Spain's restrictions on imports of Argentinean biodiesel.
On 30 August, Argentina asked the WTO to open consultations with the United States on measures applied by Washington to its exports of meat and other animal-origin products to the American market. Buenos Aires then asked the multilateral organisation on 3 September to open proceedings against the blockade on certain of its lemon exports. The department under American Trade Representative Ron Kirk also spoke out against the “disturbing trend in which countries engaged in actions that are inconsistent with their WTO obligations retaliate with counter complaints rather than fix the underlying problem”.
On 17 August, Argentina had already called for consultations to be opened with the EU over the restrictions applied by Spain to imports of Argentinean biodiesel and decided on the day before Buenos Aires expropriated the Argentinean subsidiary YPF from the Spanish oil group Repsol (EUROPE 10672).
The EU and the US, followed by Japan and Mexico, started procedures at the WTO targeting import restrictions applied by Argentina in the form of import licences and other related measures (EUROPE 10676).
The request for consultations at the WTO is the formal start of the dispute settlement procedure. If the consultations are not able to resolve the dispute amicably within 60 days, the plaintiff may ask the question to be put to the legal process of a special group. (EH/transl.fl)