RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/DS26/6
25April 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1664)
Original: English
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES -MEASURES CONCERNING
MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS (HORMONES)
Request fortheEstablishment ofaPanel bytheUnited States
Thefollowing communication, dated 25April 1996, fromthePermanent Mission oftheUnited
States totheChairman oftheDispute Settlement Body, iscirculated attherequest ofthatdelegation.
_______________
TheEuropean Communities (EC)haveadopted andmaintain theCouncil Directive Prohibiting
theUseinLivestock Farming ofCertain Substances Having aHormonal Action andrelated measures.
These include, butarenotlimited to,theCouncil Directive ofMarch 7,1988, (88/146/EEC); the
directives referenced inthatdirective (72/462/EEC, 81/602/EEC, 81/851/EEC, 81/852/EEC, and
85/358/EEC); thedecisions referred toinArticle 6(2)ofdirective 88/146/EEC; thecontrol program
referred toinArticle 6(7)ofdirective 88/146/EEC; thederogations referred toinArticle 7ofdirective
88/146/EEC; andanyamendments ormodifications.
These measures adversely affect imports ofmeatandmeatproducts andappear tobeinconsistent
withtheobligations oftheEuropean Communities under theGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade
1994, theAgreement ontheApplication ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, theAgreement on
Technical Barriers toTrade, andtheAgreement onAgriculture. Theprovisions ofthese agreements
withwhich these measures appear tobeinconsistent include, butarenotlimited to,thefollowing:
(1) General Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994, Article IIIorArticle XI;
(2) Agreement ontheApplication ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, Articles 2,
3and5;
(3) Agreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade, Article 2;and
(4) Agreement onAgriculture, Article 4.
These measures alsoappear tonullify orimpair thebenefits accruing totheUnited States directly
orindirectly under thecitedagreements.
OnJanuary 26,1996, theGovernment oftheUnited States requested consultations withthe
ECregarding these measures pursuant toArticle 4oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures
Governing theSettlement ofDisputes ("DSU"), Article 11oftheAgreement ontheApplication of
Sanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, Article 14oftheAgreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade,
Article 19oftheAgreement onAgriculture, andArticle XXII oftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs
andTrade 1994.
./.WT/DS26/6
Page2
Consultations wereheldonMarch 27,1996, buthavefailed tosettle thedispute. Accordingly,
theUnited States respectfully requests theestablishment ofapanel withstandard terms ofreference
assetoutinArticle 7oftheDSU.
TheUnited States further asksthatthisrequest fortheestablishment ofapanel beinscribed
ontheagenda ofthemeeting oftheDispute Settlement Body scheduled tobeheldonMay8,1996.