Brussels/Geneva, 03/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - A few days off the meeting in Cancun, where the fate of agricultural subsidies lies in the hands of the ministers, the agricultural superpowers have opened several fronts under the World Trade Organisation's dispute settlement procedure. The European Union, which is challenging the Australian quarantine system for the import of foodstuffs (see EUROPE of 30 August, p.4), is also on the receiving end of attacks led by its main competitors, over the aid it has given sugar sector for the past half-century as well as for its protection regime for geographic indications.
Having started the arbitrage procedure requested by the United States, Canada and Argentina on European restrictions covering the importation of genetically modified organisms, and approved the European (and Philippine) request concerning the Australian restrictions, the WTO's dispute settlement body received two further requests for panels at its latest session. One of these, concerning European sugar subsidies, was presented for the second time by Brazil, Australia and Thailand, and was thus automatically accepted (see EUROPE of 11 July, p.8, and of 9 July, p.17); and the other, concerning discrimination perceived by the United States and Australia in the European regime for the protection of geographic indications, was blocked by the Union, which will however be unable to stand in the way of this request when it is repeated in a few weeks' time (see EUROPE of 15 March and 25 April).