Comments Solicited on Argentina's Challenges to U.S. Import Restrictions
The Office of U.S. Trade Representative is seeking comments on Argentina's creation of a WTO dispute settlement panel over U.S. restrictions on importing fresh beef from Argentina, a Feb. 22 Federal Register notice said. Argentina launched a WTO dispute over U.S. import restrictions in August 2012 (see ITT's Online Archives 12083117). The WTO formed a panel to decide the dispute in January (see ITT's Online Archives 13013032).
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The Agriculture Department’s Animal Health and Inspection Service does not permit the import of fresh beef from Argentina due to concerns over foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), the notice said. In December 2002, Argentina submitted an application for authorization to import fresh beef that is either chilled or frozen from Argentina’s northern region, the notice said. The country submitted two applications, in Sept. 2003 and Dec. 2008, for FMD-free status, the notice said, and no final decision has been reached on the applications.
Argentina is contending that APHIS’s regulations and other measures breach various provisions of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade 1994, the notice said. Argentina also argues that APHIS has not processed the country’s applications in a timely manner, the notice said.
Public comments on this action are due March 21 to www.regulations.gov, docket number USTR-2013-0003, or by contacting Sandy McKinzy at 202-395-9483.