WORLD TRADE WT/DS113/4
13March 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1057)
Original: English
CANADA -MEASURES AFFECTING DAIRY EXPORTS
Request fortheEstablishment ofaPanel byNewZealand
Thefollowing communication, dated 12March 1998, from thePermanent Mission of
NewZealand totheChairman oftheDispute Settlement Body, iscirculated pursuant toArticle 6.2
oftheDSU.
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Myauthorities haveasked metosubmit thefollowing request onbehalf ofNewZealand for
consideration atthenextmeeting oftheDispute Settlement Body.
TheGovernment ofCanada isproviding export subsidies ondairy products incontravention
ofitsexport subsidy reduction andother WTO commitments asencapsulated bytheAgreement on
Agriculture andtheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994 (GATT 1994). Thedairy export
subsidy scheme inquestion iscommonly referred toasthe"special milk classes" scheme. The
background to,anddetails of,the"special milkclasses" scheme iscontained, though notnecessarily
exclusively, inthefollowing documents:
(i) theCanadian Dairy Commission Act;
(ii) theComprehensive Agreement onSpecial Class Pooling (theP9Agreement);
(iii) theNational Milk Marketing Plan(NMMP);
(iv) theAgreement onAllMilk Pooling (theP6Agreement); and
(v) theWestern Milk Pooling Agreement (theP4Agreement).
NewZealand considers thatthe"special milkclasses" scheme referred toabove isinconsistent with
Canada 'sobligations under thefollowing provisions:
(i) Articles 3,8,9and10oftheAgreement onAgriculture; and
(ii) Article X:1oftheGATT 1994.
./.WT/DS113/4
Page2
Inacommunication dated 29December 1997(WT/DS113/1), theGovernment ofNewZealand
requested consultations withtheGovernment ofCanada pursuant toArticle 4oftheUnderstanding
onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes (DSU), Article 19oftheAgreement
onAgriculture andArticle XXII:1 oftheGATT 1994withregard totheCanadian "special milkclasses"
scheme. Consultations wereheldon28January 1998, butdidnotresult inaresolution ofthedispute.
Accordingly, NewZealand requests theestablishment ofapanel pursuant toArticle 6ofthe
DSU andArticle 19oftheAgreement onAgriculture toexamine themeasures inquestion, withthe
standard terms ofreference assetoutinArticle 7oftheDSU.
Asindicated above, NewZealand asksthatthisrequest fortheestablishment ofapanel be
considered atthenextmeeting oftheDispute Settlement Body.
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