The World Trade Organisation (WTO) today launched a panel to investigate whether the European Union (EU) has upheld a prior verdict against its banana import rules.
The WTO has acceded to a request from the US to carry out the investigation - the latest round in a banana dispute that dates back to the inauguration of the EU's single market in 1993.
The US stopped its policy of imposing retaliatory duties on European goods after Brussels agreed to shift to a tariff-only import regime by January 2006.
Now Washington alleges that Brussels' revised rules violate the WTO's 1996 ruling.
The EU waived its right to block Washington's initial request for the WTO to set up a compliance panel in the case. According to Reuters, it is not yet clear whether the US-requested board will be merged with another compliance panel into Brussels' banana regime that was initiated by Ecuador in March.
The Ecuadorian-requested panel is likely to release its preliminary verdict in October. Compliance panels normally take about three months to issue a ruling, compared to six or nine months for rulings in regular WTO-brokered disputes, said Reuters.
