ARGENTINA - MEASURES AFFECTING IMPORTS OF FOOTWEAR, TEXTILES, APPAREL AND OTHER ITEMS
Document: Original: English ARGENTINA - MEASURES AFFECTING IMPORTS OF FOOTWEAR, TEXTILES, APPAREL AND OTHER ITEMS Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States The followingcommunication, dated 9 January1997,from the Permanent Mission of the United States to the Permanent Mission of Argentina and to the Dispute Settlement Body is circulated at the request of that delegation.
Date: 10 January 1997
Document codes: WT/DS56/5
Complainant: U.S.
Respondent: Argentina
Third parties: EU, Hungary, India
Dispute stage: Appellate Body
Agreements cited: Art. 1  Customs valuationArt. II, VII, VIII, X  GATT 1994Art. 7  Textiles and ClothingArt. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8  Customs valuation

ARGENTINA - MEASURES AFFECTING IMPORTS OF
FOOTWEAR, TEXTILES, APPAREL AND OTHER ITEMS
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States
The followingcommunication, dated 9 January1997,from the Permanent Mission of the United
States to the Permanent Mission of Argentina and to the Dispute Settlement Body is circulated at the
request of that delegation.
On 4 October 1996,the UnitedStates Government requested consultationswiththe Government
of Argentina pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes, Article XXII:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT
1994), Article 14 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, Article 19 of the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, and Article 7 of the Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing, regarding certain measures implemented by Argentina affecting imports of textiles, apparel,
footwear and other items. The measures in question included:
1. Resolutions 304/95, 305/95, 103/96, 299/96, Decree 998/95 and other measures which impose
specific duties on various textile, apparel or footwear items in excess of the bound rate of 35 per
cent ad valorem provided in Argentina'a Schedule LXIV;
2. Decrees 2277/94, 389/95 and other measures which impose a statistical tax of 3 per cent ad
valorem, effective March 1995,on imports from all sources other than MERCOSUR countries;
and
3. Resolutions 622/95, 26/96, 850/96 and other measures which were imposed without proper
notification and a meaningful opportunity to comment being afforded and which impose
unnecessary obstaclestotrade,suchas requirementsrelatingtoaffidavitsofproductcomponents
mandating that, among other things, footwear, textile and apparel items be labelled with the
number of the corresponding affidavit of product components assigned by the Undersecretariat
of Foreign Trade.
The United States and Argentina held consultations in Geneva on 12 November 1996. During
the consultations, Argentina represented that it has modified its labelling regime as described in
paragraph 3 above. Among other changes, Argentina no longer requires that the number of the
correspondingaffidavitofproductcomponentsassignedbytheUndersecretariat ofForeignTradeappear
on labels of textiles, apparel or footwear. Argentina's representations regarding its revised labelling
requirements satisfied the concerns raised by the United States.

The consultations, however, failed to settlethe dispute as it relates to Argentina's specific duties
and statistical tax, as described in paragraphs 1 and 2 above. The United States considers that these
measures are inconsistent with the obligations of Argentina under Articles II, VII, VIII and X of the
GATT 1994; Articles 1 through 8 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT
1994; and Article 7 of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.
Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests that a panel to examine this matter be
established at the next meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body.