- Country or region
- Colombia
- Trade topics
- Dispute settlement
- Context
- WTO - Case launched by the EU
Summary of the case
- Complaint by: EU
- Complaint against: Colombia
- Third parties: Brazil, China, Honduras, India, Japan, Russian Federation, Turkey, United States
On 15 November 2019, the EU requested consultations with Colombia on its anti-dumping duties on frozen fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
In this dispute, the EU challenged the anti-dumping duties imposed by Colombia on frozen fries from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Exports of frozen fries from the three Member States to Colombia amounted to €23 million in 2016.
These unwarranted duties, imposed in November 2018 for a two-year period, targeted almost all (85% or €19.3 million) of EU exports of frozen fries to Colombia and ranged from around 3% to 8% additional duty rate. The EU considers that these measures were incompatible with WTO law, both on substance and on procedure.
Those measures presented several systemic concerns, in particular with regard to dumping, injury, causality and procedural rights.
Relevant WTO provision: Articles 1, 2.1, 2.4, 2.4.1, 2.6, 3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 5.3, 5.8, 6.1.2, 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, 6.5.1, 6.8, 6.9, 9.1, 9.2, 9.3, 11.1, 12.2, 12.2.2, 18.1, and paragraphs 3 and 6 of Annex II of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement), Article 10 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Customs Valuation Agreement) and Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994).
Status
Consultations took place with Colombia on 15-16 January 2020, but failed to resolve the issue.
On 17 February 2020, the EU asked for the request for the establishment of a panel to be placed on the agenda of the meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), which was set to be held on 28 February 2020.
The panel was established at the DSB meeting of 29 June 2020, after a three-month break in the DSB’s work due to Covid-19 pandemic. The panel was composed on 24 August 2020 following the agreement of the parties. On 22 August 2022, the panel issued its final report to the parties. On 16 September, upon the request of Colombia, the panel suspended its work in accordance with Article 12.12 of the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU). On 6 October 2022, Colombia appealed the panel report. The full text of the panel report is annexed to Colombia’s Notice of Appeal. The report under appeal found that the Colombian anti-dumping investigation was flawed in several respects.
Both the EU and Colombia are participants in the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement pursuant to Article 25 of the DSU (known as the ‘MPIA’). As required under the MPIA, on 13 July 2020, the EU and Colombia notified to the DSB their agreement, pursuant to Article 25.2 of the DSU to enter into arbitration under Article 25 of the DSU to decide any appeal from any final panel report issued to the parties.
Colombia’s appeal is the first to be brought in the framework of the MPIA. On 21 December 2022, the award of the arbitrators was published on the WTO website. Overall, the award is a clear victory for the EU.
On 23 January 2023, Colombia informed the DSB of its intention to implement the award of the arbitrators and requested a reasonable period of time to do so. On 10 March 2023, Colombia and the European Union informed the DSB that they had agreed that the reasonable period of time for Colombia to implement the recommendations of the arbitrators' award would expire on 5 November 2023.
On 7 December 2023 Colombia circulated its Status Report under Article 21.6 of the DSU regarding the implementation of the Award of the Arbitrators in this dispute and claimed that, through Ministerial Resolution 286 issued on 21 November 2023, “it has now fully implemented all of the relevant panel and arbitral findings and has complied with its WTO obligations”. The EU disagreed and, therefore, requested compliance consultations with Colombia pursuant to Article 21.5 DSU on 31 May 2024.
Consultations failed to resolve the matter and the EU requested the establishment of a compliance panel on 14 November 2024.
- Consultations requested: 15 November 2019
- Panel requested: 17 February 2020
- Panel established: 29 June 2020
- Panel composed: 24 August 2020
- Art. 25 DSU Arbitration Award circulated: 21 December 2022
- Art 21.5 DSU consultations requested: 31 May 2024
- Art 21.5 DSU panel establishment requested: 14 November 2024