DISPUTE SETTLEMENT

DS: Turkey — Certain Import Procedures for Fresh Fruit

This summary has been prepared by the Secretariat under its own responsibility. The summary is for general information only and is not intended to affect the rights and obligations of Members.

  

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Summary of the dispute to date

The summary below was up-to-date at

Consultations

Complaint by Ecuador.

On 31 August 2001, Ecuador requested consultations with Turkey concerning certain import procedures for fresh fruits and, in particular, bananas. The procedure requires, according to Ecuador, the issuance by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture of a document, known as “Kontrol Belgesi”. Ecuador explained that this procedure is established under the “Communiqué for Standardization in Foreign Trade” published by the Under-Secretariat of Foreign Trade in the Official Journal 24271 of 25 December 2000 (Annex 1 thereof). Ecuador alleged that this procedure, as applied by the Turkish authorities, is a barrier to trade which is inconsistent with the obligations of Turkey under GATT 1994, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, the Agreement on Agriculture and the GATS. In particular, Ecuador considered that the provisions of the WTO agreements with which Turkey’s “Kontrol Belgesi” procedure appears to be inconsistent include the following:

  • Articles II, III, VIII, X and XI of the GATT 1994;
     
  • Articles 2.3 and 8 and Annexes B and C of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
     
  • Paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Article 1 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures;
     
  • Article 4 of the Agreement on Agriculture; and
     
  • Articles VI and XVII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

On 20 September 2001, the EC requested to be joined in the consultations.

On 14 June 2002, Ecuador requested the establishment of a panel. At its meeting on 24 June 2002, the DSB deferred the establishment of a panel.

 

Panel and Appellate Body proceedings

Further to a second request by Ecuador, the DSB established a panel at its meeting on 29 July 2002. During the meeting, Ecuador also requested the DSB to suspend the composition of the Panel as the parties were engaged in consultations to find a mutually satisfactory solution to the dispute between them. The EC and the US reserved their third-party rights. On 7 August 2002, Colombia requested third party rights.

 

Mutually agreed solution

On 22 November 2002, the parties to the dispute informed the DSB that they had found a mutually agreed solution to their dispute.

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