The European Union has asked the World Trade Organisation to rule on the legality of the Australian quarantine regime applied to imports of a large number of food products of EU interest.
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Consultations between Australia and the EU, held in May 2003, failed to solve problems of access to the Australian market. The EU said it has therefore “been left with no alternative other than to challenge this restrictive trade practice through the WTO dispute settlement system”.
“Despite Australia’s constant claims to be the leading force of free agricultural trade, its own quarantine system continues to block unjustifiably the import of a number of agricultural products into Australia. Contrary to WTO rules, these import prohibitions are not based on a scientific risk assessment. The EU will continue to use WTO procedures to ensure that Australia lives up to its legal obligations, and to its own rhetoric on open trade in agriculture,” EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said.
The EU request follows formal WTO consultations, which is the first stage in the WTO dispute settlement process, held with Australia in May 2003. The dispute was not resolved in the consultations and the EU said it has therefore decided to ask for a WTO Panel to be established to rule on the legality of the Australian measures.
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