. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS286/5
28 October 2003
(03-5735)
Original:  English
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – CUSTOMS CLASSIFICATION OF
FROZEN BONELESS CHICKEN CUTS
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by Thailand
The following communication, dated 27 October 2003, from the Permanent Mission of
Thailand to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 6.2 of theDSU.
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On 25 March 2003, pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes ("DSU") an d Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994"), the Kingdom of Thailand ("Thailand") requested consultations with
the European Communities ("EC") with respect to the EC's customs classification of frozen boneless
salted chicken cuts.  That request was circulated to WTO Members on 31 March 2003 in documentWT/DS286/1.  On 21 May 2003, Thailand and the EC held consultations in Geneva with a view to
reaching a mutually agreed solution.  Unfortunat ely, consultations failed to settle the dispute.
Thailand therefore requests the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article 6 of the DSU and
Article XXIII of the GATT 1994.
The measure at issue is the classification of frozen boneless salted chicken cuts as provided in
the EC Regulation No.1223/2002 of 8 July 2002 ("Regulation 1223/2002") published in the OfficialJournal of the EC on 9 July 2002 concerning the classification of certain goods in the Combined
Nomenclature (CN) and elaborated in the EC Commission Decision ("Decisi on") of 31 January 2003
published in the Official Journal of the EC on 12 February 2003 concerning the validity of certain
binding tariff information ("BTI") issued by the Federal Republic of Germany.
Regulation 1223/2002 establishes a new description for products falling under CN Code
0207.14.10.  By virtue of Regulation 1223/2002, goods described as "[b]oneless chicken cuts
impregnated with salt in all parts.  They have a salt content by weight of 1,2% to 1,9%.  The product
is deep-frozen and has to be stored at a temperature of lower than -18° C to ensure a shelf-life of at
least one year" are now classified under CN  Code 0207.14.10.  Products under CN Code 0207.14.10
are subject to a tariff of 102.4 Euros per 100 kg/net.
Prior to Regulation 1223/2002, frozen boneless chicken cuts impregnated with salt in all parts
were classified as salted meat under CN code 0210.99.39.  Products under CN Code 0210.99.39 are
subject to an ad valorem  duty of 15.4%.
Subsequent to the issuance of Regulation 1223/2002, the EC Commission published a
Decision addressed to the Federal Republic of Germany noting that BTIs previously issued by
Member States which classified the products concerned as salted meat under heading 0210 ceased to
be valid.  The Decision further noted that Germany had subsequently issued BTIs classifying frozenboneless chicken cuts with a salt content of 1.9% to 3% under heading 0210.  The Decision stated thatWT/DS286/5
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"the products also consisting of boneless chicken cuts which have been frozen for long-term
preservation and have a salt content of 1,9% to 3% are similar to the products covered by Regulation
(EC) 1223/2002.  The addition of salt in such quantities is not such as to alter the products' character
as frozen poultry meat of heading 0207."   Therefore, the Commission Decision instructed Germany
to withdraw the BTIs issued on frozen poultry  meat with a salt content between 1.9% and 3%.
As a result of this measure, the product classified as frozen boneless chicken cuts with a salt
content of 1.2% or more, which was previously been classified as salted meat at the ad valorem  rate
of 15.4%, is now classified as frozen chicken subj ect to a tariff rate in excess of the bound rate for
salted meat in the EC's Schedule of Concessions (Schedule LXXX) under the GATT 1994.
In the view of Thailand, its exports of salted chicken to the EC are being accorded treatment
less favourable than that provided in the EC Sc hedule in contravention of the EC's obligations under
Articles II:1(a) and II:1(b) of the GATT 1994.  The EC measure creates distortions in trade that
nullify or impair, within the meaning of Article XXIII, the benefits accruing to Thailand under the
GATT 1994.
Thailand requests that a panel be established with standard terms of reference at the meeting
of the Dispute Settlement Body to be held on 7 November 2003.
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