New WTO Dispute Settlement Actions

Japan filed a new case with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body today.  Japan claims that Russia is violating the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, the Trade Related Investment Measures Agreement (TRIMs) and the Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) by imposing certain recycling fees on motor vehicles.  According to Japan, all importers must pay the fee, but certain Russian entities are exempted. Japan has requested consultations with Russia, the first step in the dispute settlement process. If consultations do not resolve the matter within 60 days, Japan will have the right to request the establishment of a dispute settlement panel.  The matter has been assigned case number WT/DS463/1.

In another WTO dispute, the DSB established a panel after consultations failed to resolve a trade dispute between Guatemala and Peru with respect to "Additional Duty on Imports of Certain Agricultural Products”. Argentina, China, El Salvador, the European Union,India and the United States reserved their third-party rights to participate in the panel’s proceedings. That matter is case number WT/DS457/1.

(cgb)