RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/DS24/1
15January 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-0089)
Original: Spanish
UNITED STATES -RESTRICTIONS ONIMPORTS
OFCOTTON AND MAN-MADE UNDERWEAR
Request forConsultations byCosta Rica
Thefollowing communication, dated 22December 1995, from thePermanent Mission of
Costa RicatothePermanent Mission oftheUnited States andtotheDispute Settlement Body, is
circulated inaccordance withArticle 4.4oftheDSU.
_______________
TheGovernment ofCosta Ricarequests consultations withtheUnited States under Article 4
andtheotherrelevantprovisionsoftheUnderstandingonRulesandProceduresGoverningtheSettlement
ofDisputes, Article XXIII oftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994, andthecorresponding
provisions oftheAgreement onTextiles andClothing (ATC), inconnection withtheintroduction and
implementation ofquantitative restrictions onCosta Rican exports ofcotton andman-made fibre
underwear (Category 352/652). Therestrictions wereestablished inadirective bytheUnited States
Committee fortheimplementation oftextiles agreements andpublished intheFederal Register of
23June1995 (60FR121,page32653).
TheGovernment ofCosta Ricaconsiders thatthese restrictions arenotcompatible withthe
obligations assumed bytheUnited States under theATC; inparticular, those under Article 6.
On27March1995,theGovernmentoftheUnitedStatesrequestedconsultationswithCostaRica
ontheaforementioned textiles category under Article 6oftheATC. After thebilateral consultations
hadbrokendownandrestrictionswereplacedonCostaRicanexports,on21JulytheTextilesMonitoring
Body (TMB) reviewed thematter. Itfound thatserious damage, asenvisaged inparagraphs 2and
3ofArticle 6,hadnotbeendemonstrated. Itcould notreach consensus ontheexistence ofactual
threat ofserious damage. Itrecommended that"...further consultations beheldbetween the
United States andtheparties concerned, withaviewtoarriving atamutual understanding, bearing
inmind theabove, andwithdueconsideration totheparticular features ofthiscase, aswellasequity
considerations" (G/TMB/R/2).
Theparties heldfurther bilateral consultations on16and17August, butthese didnotlead
toamutually satisfactory understanding. Discussions intheTMB during itssubsequent review on
19October reaffirmed itsprevious conclusions (G/TMB/R/2, firsttwosentences ofparagraph 16).
Onthisoccasion, theTMB "considered itsreview ofthematter completed" (G/TMB/R/5).
./.WT/DS24/1
Page2
TheTMB procedure hasnowbeenconcluded without thematter being resolved because the
Government oftheUnited States, despite nothaving beenabletoprove theexistence ofanactual threat
ofserious damage, continues toapply unilateral restrictions.
TheGovernmentofCostaRicaconsidersthattheserestrictionsnullifyorimpairbenefitsdirectly
orindirectly accruing under theaforesaid Agreements.
Iawait yourresponse tothisrequest soastofixamutually convenient datefortheconsultations.