VENEZUELA – IMPORT LICENSING MEASURES ON CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Document: Request for Consultations by the United States
Date: 12 November 2002
Document codes: WT/DS275/1; G/L/587; G/LIC/D/35; G/AG/GEN/55; G/TRIMS/D/19
Complainant: U.S.
Respondent: Venezuela
Dispute stage: Consultation
Agreements cited: Art. 4.2  AgricultureArt. III, X, XI, XIII  GATT 1994Art. 1.4, 3.2, 3.5, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3  Import LicensingArt. 2.1  Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)

VENEZUELA – IMPORT LICENSING MEASURES ON
CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
Request for Consultations by the United States
The following communication, dated 7 November 2002, from the Permanent Mission of the
United States to the Permanent Mission of Venezuela and to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement
Body, is circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.
My authorities have instructed me to request consultations with the Government of Venezuela
pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement
of Disputes (DSU), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994),
Article 6 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (Import Licensing Agreement), Article 19
of the Agreement on Agriculture , and Article 8 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Investment
Measures (TRIMs Agreement), with respect to Venezuelan import licensing systems and practices
that restrict agricultural imports from the United States.
Venezuela has established import licensing requirements for numerous agricultural products,
including corn, sorghum, dairy products (for example, cheese, whey, whole milk powder, and non-fat
dry milk), grapes, yellow grease, poultry, beef, pork, and soybean meal. Thus, to import any of these
products, an importer must obtain a license in accordance with Venezuelan procedures. Venezuela
maintains these import licensing systems and practices through numerous measures, including:
for yellow corn and sorghum,
• Ministerio de Hacienda DM/ No. 3299, Ministerio de Industria y Comercio DM/
No. 036 & Ministerio de Agricultura y Cria DM/ No. 038, Gaceta Oficial de la
República de Venezuela No. 36,142 (6 February 1997);
• Ministerio de Hacienda DM/ No. 4315, Ministerio de Industria y Comercio DM/
No. 569 & Ministerio de Agricultura y Cria DM/ No. 703, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,620
(13 January 1999);
• Ministerio de Finanzas DM/ No. 284 & Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio
DM/ No. 628, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,831 (17 November 1999);
• Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio, Aviso Oficial: Mecanísmo de
Comercialización de Cereales (18 September 2001);
• Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio, Aviso Oficial: Mecanísmo de
Comercialización de Cereales (11 October 2001);
• Ministerio de Finanzas DM/ No. 868 & Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio
DM/ No. 0002, Gaceta Oficial No. 37,368 (21 January 2002);
WT/DS275/1, G/L/587,
G/LIC/D/35, G/AG/GEN/55,

• Ministerio de Finanzas Resolución No. 911, Gaceta Oficial No. 5,581 Extraordinaria
(27 March 2002);
• and related resolutions, decrees, official notices, and amendments;
for dairy products (for example, cheese, whey, whole milk powder, and non-fat dry milk),
• Ministerio de Hacienda No. 3677, Ministerio de Industria y Comercio No. 232 &
Ministerio de Agricultura y Cria No. 298, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,311
(13 October 1999);
• Ministerio de Finanzas DM/ No. 285 & Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio
DM/ No. 631, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,831 (17 November 1999);
• Ministerio de Finanzas Resolución No. 294, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,850
(14 December 1999);
• Ministerio de Finanzas DM/ No. 848 & Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio
DM/ No. 898, Gaceta Oficial No. 37,329 (21 November 2001);
• and related resolutions, decrees, official notices, and amendments; and
for yellow grease and soybean meal,
• Ministerio de Finanzas DM/ No. 282 & Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio
DM/ No. 627, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,831 (17 November 1999);
• Ministerio de Finanzas Resolución No. 295, Gaceta Oficial No. 36,850
(14 December 1999);
• Ministerio de Finanzas DM/ No. 850 & Ministerio de la Producción y el Comercio
DM/ No. 918, Gaceta Oficial No. 37,329 (21 November 2001);
• and related resolutions, decrees, official notices, and amendments.
Venezuela requires import licenses for other agricultural products, including poultry, beef,
pork, and grapes (Decreto No. 989, Gaceta Oficial No. 5,039 Extraordinaria (9 February 1996)), but
does not appear to have published any resolutions, decrees, official notices, or any other measures
establishing applicable import licensing procedures.
Venezuela's import licensing system for all of these agricultural products appears to establish
a discretionary import licensing regime. Through its import licensing practices, Venezuela has also
failed to establish a transparent and predictable system for issuing import licenses and has severely
restricted and distorted trade in these goods. Such practices include Venezuela's failure to publish
rules and information concerning its licensing procedures, its failure to process applications in a
timely fashion, its failure to make licenses valid for a period of reasonable duration, and its
administration of tariff-rate quotas so as to discourage their full utilization. In addition, in several
cases Venezuela has tied the issuance of licenses to the purchase, consumption, or use of domestic
products or investment in domestic production. At least twice Venezuela has explicitly banned the
importation of corn by suspending the granting of import licenses until domestic production has been
removed from the market.
Venezuela's import licensing systems and practices thus appear to be inconsistent with
numerous WTO obligations. Specifically, Venezuela's measures appear inconsistent with Article 4.2
of the Agreement on Agriculture , Articles III, X, XI, and XIII of GATT 1994, Article 2.1 of the
TRIMs Agreement, and Articles 1.4, 3.2, 3.5, 5.1, 5.2, and 5.3 of the Import Licensing Agreement.
Venezuela's measures also appear to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to the United States
directly or indirectly under the cited agreements.
WT/DS275/1, G/L/587,
G/LIC/D/35, G/AG/GEN/55,

Madam Ambassador, we urge Venezuela to take this request for consultations as an opportunity
to bring its import regime for agricultural products into compliance with Venezuela's WTO
commitments. We look forward to receiving your reply to the present request and to fixing a
mutually convenient date for consultations.