WT/DS524/1  
G/L/1178  
G/SPS/GEN/1539  
13 March  2017 
(17-1423) Page: 1/2 
 Original:  Spanish  
 
  COSTA RICA – MEASURES CONCERNING THE IMPORTATION  
OF FRESH AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO  
REQUEST FOR CONSULTATIONS BY MEXICO  
The following communication, dated 8 March  2017, from the delegation of Mexico to the delegation 
of Costa Rica and the Chair of the Dispute S ettlement Body, is being  distributed in accordance 
with Article 4.4 of the DSU . 
 
_______________  
 
 
I have been instructed by my authorities to inform you that purs uant to Articles 1 and 4 of 
the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlemen t of Disputes (DSU), 
Article  XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), and Article 11.1 of 
the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement ), 
the Government of Mexico hereby requests consulta tions with th e Government of the Republic 
of Costa  Rica regarding  measures it has adopted that restrict or prohibit the importation of fresh 
avocados for consumption from Mexico, including certain control, inspection and approval 
procedures, as well as  the failure of the Republic of Costa Rica to implement or recognize in its 
legal instruments certain  obligations laid down in the SPS Agreement, such as adaptation to 
regional conditions, including pest - or disease -free areas and areas of low pest or disease 
prevalence, i.e. the establishment of processes  or practices that ensure the effective opportunity 
to receive claims of the existence of such areas, and thus to re nder operational the concept 
of regionalization.  
 
The measures introduced by the Republic of Costa Rica inclu de, but are not limited to, 
the following : 
(a) Law No. 7664 ( Phytosanitary Protection Law ), publi shed in  the Official  Journal of 
the Republic of Costa Rica , La Gaceta , on 2 May 1997; 
(b) Regulation  No. 26921 -MAG ( Regulations implementing  the Phytos anitary Protection 
Law), publi shed in the Official Journal of the Republic of Costa Rica , La Gaceta , 
on 22 May 1998; 
(c) Resolu tion DSFE -03-2015, State Phytosanitary Service of the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Livestock of the Republic of Costa  Rica, of 22 April 2015; 
(d) ARP-003-2015 by the Pest Risk Analysis Unit of the State Phytosanitary Service , Ministry 
of Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Costa Rica, dated 10 July 2015. ( Pest Risk 
Analysis established following the review of a policy in respect of the importation of 
avocado s (Persea americana Mill. ) from Mexico for consumption ); 
(e) Resolu tion DSFE -11-2015, State Phytosanitary Service , Ministry of Agriculture and 
Livestock of the Republic of Costa Rica, dated 1 0 July 2015; 
(f) ARP-003-2015 by the Pest Risk Analysis Unit of the State Phytosanitary Service , Ministry 
of Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Costa Rica, dated 5  Novembe r 2015. 
(Pest Risk Analysis established following the review of a policy in respect of the 
importation of avocado s (Persea  americana Mill .) from Mexico for consumption ); WT/DS524/1 • G/L/1178 • G/SPS/GEN/1539  
- 2 - 
  (g) Sampl ing of  avocado sunblotch viroid (ASBVd) in avocado (Persea americana ) 
plantations  at the national level, and Report  CIBM-CM-PCDV -021-2015 from the Cellular 
and Molecular Biology Research Centre of the Un iversity of Costa Rica ; 
(h) Technical Report  025-2015-ARP-SFE of 25 May 2015 describing the  information 
gathered during the visit by a Costa Rican official of the main avocado -producing area 
of Mexico ; 
(i) Failure by the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica to  respond  to the comments 
submitted by Mexico to Costa Rica's SPS enquiry point on 1 0 July 2015 in relation 
to Resolution  DSFE -03-2015;  
(j) Failure by the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica to re spond  to the comments 
submitted by Mexico to Costa Rica's SP S enquiry point on 1 0 September  2015 in relation 
to Resolution DSFE -11-2015; and 
(k) Document on "tests – method for detecting ASBVd in avocados ", issued by the Pest 
Diagnosis Laboratory of the State Phytosanitary Service , Ministry of Agriculture 
and Livestock  of the Republic of Costa Rica, received  by the Government of Mexico 
in October  2016. 
This request for consultations relates to the measure s at issue and to any additional measures that 
prolong, replace, amend, implement, extend or apply the measures at is sue. It also relates to a 
number of Costa Rica's domestic legislative  provisions that fail to implement or recognize various 
obligations under the SPS Agreement, such as adaption to regional conditions, including pest - or 
disease -free areas and areas of lo w pest or disease prevalence, i.e. to render operational the 
concept of regionalization by establishing a procedure or practice which provides an effective 
opportunity to receive claims of the existence of such areas.  
These measures appear to be inconsiste nt with the obligations of the Republic of Costa Rica under 
the GATT 1994 and the SPS Agreement . The provisions of these Agreements with which the 
measures appear to be inconsistent include in particular, but not necessarily exclusiv ely, 
the following:  
(i) Articles 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, 6.1, 6.2, 7, 8, and 
paragraphs 2, 5 and 6 of Annex B and paragraph 1 of Annex C to the SPS Agreement ; 
and 
(ii) Articles I:1, III:4, X and XI of the GATT 1994.  
Similarly, these measures also appea r to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to Mexico directly 
or indirectly under the mentioned Agreements and appear not to be justified under any provision 
of the GATT 1994 or of the covered Agreements.  
Mexico reserves the right to raise additional fac tual or legal claims or matters regarding the 
measures at issue during the course of the consultations.  
Mexico looks forward to receiving the response of the Republic of Costa Rica to this request in 
order to set a mutually convenient date and venue for th e consultations.  
__________