Ecs Preferential Banana Importation Treatment - 2114 Words

EC-BANANAS III The case concerns the ECÊ ¼s preferential banana importation treatment to certain African, Caribbean and Paciï ¬ c (ACP) countries. The Appellate Body upheld the panel’s ruling that the ECÊ ¼s regime for importation, sale and distribution of bananas was inconsistent with certain GATT Articles.17) Ecuador, one of the complaining countries, sought to retaliate against the EC when the latter was found, by a compliance panel under DSU Article 21.5, to have failed to implement the DSB rulings. The crucial element in Ecuador’s request was that it was the ï ¬ rst case where a complaining party requested to retaliate under the TRIPS Agreement. The arbitration panel found that Ecuador could request authorization to suspend its concessions or other obligations in certain sectors under the TRIPS Agreement, with the level not exceeding US $201.6 million per year. Although DSU has usually made it easier for disputes to be resolved rapidly, EC-Bananas is an exception to this experience. The EU kept prolonging the dispute by repeatedly reforming its banana regime without making it fully WTO compliant, thus provoking renewed consultations and litigation after each reform. Ecuador and its developing country co-plaintiffs were unable to force the EU into compliance. This may partly be due to the fact that Ecuador did not make use of its cross-retaliation rights granted by the DSB in 2000. Even retaliation to its full potential by Ecuador may not have succeeded in bringing about EU