. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS207/2
19 January 2001
(01-0333)
Original:  Spanish
CHILE – PRICE BAND SYSTEM AND SAFEGUARD MEASURES
RELATING TO CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by Argentina
The following communication, dated 19 January 2001, from the Permanent Mission of
Argentina to the Chairman of the Dispute Settleme nt Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 6.2 of
the DSU.
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Pursuant to Article XXIII of the GATT 1994, Articles 4 and 6 of the Understanding on Rules
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Article 19 of the Agreement on
Agriculture and Article 14 of the Agreement on Safeguards, I herewith request the establishment of a
panel against the Republic of Chile in relation to the price band system, the provisional and definitive
safeguard measures on imports of wheat, wheat flour and edible vegetable oils, and the extension ofthose measures.
1. Price band system
Under Law 18.525, as amended by Law 18.591 and subsequently by Law 19.546, as well as
the regulations and complementary provisions and/or amendments, Chile applies a price band system
which is inconsistent with various provisions of the GATT 1994 and with the Agreement on
Agriculture.
The price band system does not ensure certainty in respect of market access for agricultural
products and has caused Chile to breach its commitments on tariff bindings in relation to the
concessions set forth in its national schedule.  Argentina submits that the said legislation is
inconsistent with Article II of the GATT 1994 and with Article 4 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
2. Safeguards on imports of wheat, wheat flour and edible vegetable oils
With respect to safeguards, Chile adopted provisional measures on 26 November 1999 which
became definitive on 18 January 2000 and were extended on 25 November 2000 following the
consultations with Argentina referred to below.
As stated in the request for consultations contained in document WT/DS207/1, Argentina
considers the measures adopted to be inconsistent with the obligations imposed by the Agreement on
Safeguards.
Argentina considers the said measures to be inconsistent, inter alia , with the following
provisions of the Agreement on Safeguards:  Article 2 (importation in such increased quantities,
absolute or relative to domestic production, and under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause
serious injury to the domestic industry that produces like or directly competitive products), Article 3
(publication of a report setting forth the findings and reasoned conclusions reached on all pertinentWT/DS207/2
Page 2
issues of fact and law), Article 4 (determination of threat of injury based on facts and not merely on
allegation or conjecture;  definition of the domestic industry affected;  evaluation of all relevant
factors of an objective and quantifiable nature;  examination of factors other than increased imports
causing injury to the domestic industry), Article 5 (application of safeguard measures only to the
extent necessary to facilitate adjustment), Article 6 (determination of critical circumstances;preliminary determination that there is clear evidence of injury or threat of injury), and Article 12
(holding of consultations prior to the applic ation or extension of a measure), as well as
Article XIX.1(a) of the GATT 1994 (unforeseen developments).
On 5 October 2000, Argentina requested consultations with Chile in respect of both the
price band system and the safeguard measures imposed, with a view to seeking a mutually
satisfactory solution to these issues.  This request was circulated to Members on 12 October 2000(document WT/DS207/1).  The consultations took place on 21 November 2000, but the parties were
unable to reach any understanding.
In the light of the above circumstances, Argentina requests the establishment of a panel with
the standard terms of reference.  To that end, it asks that this request be included in the agenda of themeeting of the Dispute Settlement Body scheduled for 1 February 2001.
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