WRITTEN QUESTION E-3015/96 by Bernard Castagnède (ARE) to the Commission (11 November 1996)

Subject: Small Caribbean states/WTO panel (bananas)

With the support of Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala and Honduras, The United States have filed a complaint with the WTO, claiming that the Community import arrangements for bananas are contrary to WTO rules. The WTO arbitration panel started work on 10 September and should publish its decision in March 1997. However, although small states are directly affected by the deliberations of the panel, the panel itself has refused to grant a full right of participation to the small Caribbean states, giving in to pressure from the United States to prevent the states concerned from being represented on the panel and thus from defending their interests. Since the first meeting of the panel, these states have not been able to attend, even as observers. Furthermore, the panel expelled experts from the Netherlands Antilles from its first meeting, despite the fact that they were officially accredited by their governments. The small banana producing countries are therefore severely handicapped in their attempts to defend their vital interests. The Commission has already demonstrated its desire to protect the common organization of the market in bananas and the interests of European and ACP banana producers.

However, in view of this new attack by the United States against the small Caribbean states, which, in this instance, has taken the form of a procedural dispute, what steps does the Commission intend to take with a view to reassuring its Caribbean partners, in particular the ACP states, whose discontent and concern are more than justified? What action does it feel it should take to redress this imbalance between small and large countries within the WTO, which is prejudicial to the defence of the Community import arrangements for bananas?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (20 December 1996)

In the context of the proceedings of the panel established under the World trade organization (WTO) dispute settlement rules to examine the Community regime for bananas, the Community has strongly supported the request advanced by African, Caribbean and Pacific countries as interested third parties, to participate more fully in the panel proceedings in order to be able to protect their interests.

The understanding on rules and procedures governing the settlement of disputes of the WTO lays down rules for the participation of interested third parties in panel proceedings. On the basis of these rules, the panel has ruled three times on third party participation in the current proceedings. As a result third parties have been able to submit written memoranda to the panel, to be present and to intervene orally at the first meeting of the parties with the panel, to be present and to make a brief oral statement at the second meeting of the parties to the panel. The panel has also ruled that only government representatives may appear before the panel. The latest ruling will enable third parties to receive and comment on those sections of the draft descriptive part of the panel's report which are relevant to their submissions. The panel has envisaged no further participation.