TURKEY – CERTAIN IMPORT PROCEDURES FOR FRESH FRUIT
Document: Request for Consultations by Ecuador
Date: 10 September 2001
Document codes: WT/DS237/1; G/L/472; G/SPS/GEN/276; G/LIC/D/33; G/AG/GEN/48; S/L/101
Complainant: Ecuador
Respondent: Turkey
Third parties: Colombia, EU, U.S.
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. 4.2  AgricultureArt. XI:1  GATT 1994Art. 1.2, 1.3, 1.6  Import LicensingArt. 2.3, 8, Annex C  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)Art. III:4  GATT 1994Art. 7, Annex B  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)

TURKEY – CERTAIN IMPORT PROCEDURES FOR FRESH FRUIT
Request for Consultations by Ecuador
The following communication, dated 31 August 2001, from the Permanent Mission of
Ecuador to the Permanent Mission of Turkey and to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is
circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.
Upon instructions from my authorities I hereby request consultations with the Government of
Turkey pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement
of Disputes (DSU), Article XXII:1 of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT 1994), Article 11 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures (SPS), Article 6 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, Article 19 of the
Agreement on Agriculture and Article XXII:1 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS).
This request is in respect to certain import procedures for fresh fruits and, in particular,
bananas. The procedure requires the issuance by the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture of a document,
known as "Kontrol Belgesi". This procedure is established under the "Communiqué for
Standardization in Foreign Trade" published by the Under-Secretariat of Foreign Trade in the Official
Journal 24271 of 25 December 2000 (Annex 1 thereof).
The Government of Ecuador is of the view that this procedure, as applied by the Turkish
authorities, is a barrier to trade which is inconsistent with the obligations of Turkey under
GATT 1994, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, the
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, the Agreement on Agriculture and the GATS.
In particular, the Government of Ecuador considers that the provisions of the WTO
agreements with which Turkey's "Kontrol Belgesi" procedure appears to be inconsistent include the
following:
1. Articles II, III, VIII, X and XI of the GATT 1994;
2. Articles 2.3 and 8 and Annexes B and C of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures;
3. Paragraphs 2, 3, 5 and 6 of Article 1 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures;
WT/DS237/1, G/L/472,
G/SPS/GEN/276, G/LIC/D/33,
G/AG/GEN/48, S/L/101

4. Article 4 of the Agreement on Agriculture; and
5. Articles VI and XVII of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
I look forward to receiving the reply of Turkey to this request as Ecuador is ready to consider
with Turkey mutually convenient dates to co mmence consultations in Geneva with a view to
clarifying the facts of the situation and to arriving at a mutually agreed solution.
The Government of Ecuador reserves the right to raise additional factual or legal points
related to the aforementioned measure during the course of consultations and any other subsequent
actions under the DSU.