On Friday 14 July, the European Commission requested the establishment of a “compliance panel” at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a dispute with the United States over Spanish olives. It believes that the United States has failed to implement the 2021 ruling of the WTO panel which invalidated US countervailing duties on Spanish olives.
The panel will have 90 days to assess the measures implemented by Washington since the dispute settlement body handed down its ruling (see EUROPE 12836/17).
The United States had indicated that it wanted to comply with the WTO ruling as early as January 2022, but that it needed time to do so (see EUROPE 12878/32).
“Should the US fail to comply with this final award or decide to appeal the compliance panel report into the void, the EU could consider retaliatory measures”, the European Commission said.
This could involve using its regulation on compliance with international trade rules, which allows the EU to respond to a deadlock in a dispute with a third country. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)