EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – MEASURES AFFECTING IMPORTS OF WINE
Document: Request for Consultations by Argentina
Date: 12 September 2002
Document codes: WT/DS263/1; G/L/558; G/TBT/D/25
Complainant: Argentina
Respondent: EU
Dispute stage: Consultation
Agreements cited: Art. I:1, III:4  GATT 1994Art. 2, 12  Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)Art. XVI:4  Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – MEASURES AFFECTING
IMPORTS OF WINE
Request for Consultations by Argentina
The following communication, dated 4 September 2002, from the Permanent Mission of
Argentina to the Permanent Delegation of the Eu ropean Commission and to the Chairman of the
Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.
The Government of the Republic of Argentina hereby requests consultations with the
European Commission pursuant to Article 14.1 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
(TBT), Article XXIII.1 of the General Agr eement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) and
Article 4 of the (WTO) Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing
the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), regarding seve ral EU regulations and other mandatory provisions
on oenological practices and on trade in wines.
The Republic of Argentina considers that some provisions contained – although not
exclusively – in the following EU regulations, as we ll as other policies and procedures related to the
administration and the common organization of the ma rket in wine, the establishment of authorized
oenological practices and the regulation of trade be tween the countries of the EU and third countries,
are inconsistent with the obligations of the European Union under the WTO, either on their face or as
applied, as set forth in greater detail below:
• Council Regulation (EC) No. 1493/1999.
• Commission Regulation (EC) No. 883/2001.

Argentina considers that the referred regulatio ns and measures are inconsistent with the
following provisions of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade of the GATT 1994, the General
Agreement of Tariffs and Trade 1994 itself, and the WTO Agreement :

• Articles 2 and 12 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade;
• Articles I.1 and III.4 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994); and
• Article XVI.4 of the WTO Agreement.
Argentina's specific claims related to the regulations establishing the common organization of
the European market for wines and to the provisions applicable to trade between the European Union
and third countries on this product which include, although not exclusively, those requirements
imposed in connection with the process of acidification, are as follows:
1. The European Commission established through Regulation (EC) 1493/1999 a set of
requirements regarding oenological practices that are more trade restrictive than they

should and could be, creating as a consequence an unnecessary obstacle to trade, in a
manner which is inconsistent with European obligations under Art. 2.2 of the
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. Moreover, Argentina claims that, the
restriction imposed to certain wines irrespective of its origin, as a result of the
enforcement and application of Regulation (EC) 1493/1999, is inconsistent too with
Article 12.3 of the same Agreement.
2. For the purpose of establishing the oenological practices authorized for the process of
acidification of wines, described in A nnex IV of Regulation (EC) 1493/1999, the
EU Commission did not take into accoun t the Resolutions OENO 3 and 4 of 1999,
and OENO 13 and 14 of 2001, acting inconsistently with its obligations under
Article 2.4 of the TBT.
3. Pursuant to (the procedure established in) Article 45 of Regulation 1493/1999, the EU
has signed bilateral treaties with several WTO Members, benefiting those countries
with particular exceptions to the genera l rule contained in the aforementioned
Regulation regarding the acidification of wines with malic acid. The EU has also
issued the Council Regulation (EC) No. 1037/2001, providing an specific derogation
to the general rule governing authorized oenological practices, for wines produced in
the territory of another WTO Member .By so doing, and since those benefits have not
been extended to other WTO Members, the EU has acted inconsistently with its
obligations under Article 2.1 of the TBT and Article I.1 of the GATT 1994.
4. The EU has also a bilateral agreement with a Member, governing several aspects
related to the trade in wine between them. Under this agreement, both parties have
the possibility to export to the territory of the other party, wines acidified with malic
acid. This is inconsistent with EU obligations under Article III.4 of the GATT 1994.
The Government of the Republic of Argentina reserves the right to request the production of
information and documents from the EU, and to raise further factual claims and legal issues during the
course of consultations.
The Government of the Republic of Argentina looks forward to receiving your reply to this
request and to fixing a mutually acceptable date for consultations.