RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/DS2/1
2February 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-0199)
Original: Spanish
UNITED STATES -STANDARDS FOR REFORMULATED
AND CONVENTIONAL GASOLINE
Request forConsultations under Article XXII:1 ofGATT 1994
byVenezuela
Thefollowing communication, dated 24January 1995, sentbythePermanent Mission of
Venezuela totheDirector-General oftheWTO iscirculated inaccordance withArticle 4ofthe
Understanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes.
______________
TheGovernment ofVenezuela hereby requests theGovernment oftheUnited States tohold
consultations concerning the"Regulation ofFuels andFuelAdditives -Standards forReformulated
andConventional Gasoline" (Gasoline Regulation) adopted bytheEnvironmental Protection Agency
on15December 1993. Thisrequest ismade pursuant toArticle XXII:1 oftheGeneral Agreement
onTariffs andTrade (GATT) andArticles 14.1oftheAgreement onTechnical Barriers toTrade and
4oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes (Understanding),
incorporated asannexes intheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization (WTO).
Inthisconnection, Iwishtoinform youthaton11January 1995theGovernment ofVenezuela
informed theGATT Secretariat thatithaddecided tosuspend definitively1theproceedings ofthepanel
examining thematter oftheGasoline Regulation, initiated in1994under Article XXIII ofGATT 1947.
Asyouareaware, theGovernment ofVenezuela considers thattheGasoline Regulation violates
theUnited States 'obligation togrant national treatment toVenezuelan gasoline imported bytheUnited
States.ApartfromviolatingthisprincipleandotherfundamentalobligationsoftheGATT,theregulation
inquestion isinconsistent withtheUnited States 'obligations under theAgreement onTechnical Barriers
toTrade.
Venezuela wishes toconduct consultations concerning these violations asrapidly aspossible,
inviewofthefactthattheRegulationinquestioniscurrentlyinforceandadverselyaffectingVenezuela's
exports totheUnited States.
Lastly, inaccordance withArticle 4.4oftheUnderstanding, theGovernment ofVenezuela
isnotifying thisrequest forconsultations totheWTO General Council andDispute Settlement Body.
1Secretariat note: seedocuments circulated asDS47/5 andDS47/6.