EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – CONDITIONS FOR THE GRANTING OF TARIFF PREFERENCES TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Document: Request for the Establishment of a Panel by India
Date: 9 December 2002
Document codes: WT/DS246/4
Complainant: India
Respondent: EU
Third parties: Bolivia, Plurinational State of, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, U.S.
Dispute stage: Appellate Body
Agreements cited: Art. I:1  GATT 1994

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – CONDITIONS FOR THE GRANTING
OF TARIFF PREFERENCES TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by India
The following communication, dated 6 December 2002, from the Permanent Mission of India
to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 6.2 of the DSU.
On 5 March 2002, India requested consultations with the European Communities (the "EC")
pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of
Disputes ("DSU"), Article XXIII:1 of the Genera l Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (the "GATT
1994"), and paragraph 4 (b) of the Decision of 28 November 1979 of the GATT CONTRACTING
PARTIES on Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of
Developing Countries1 (the "Enabling Clause") regarding the conditions under which the EC accords
tariff preferences to developing countries under the scheme of generalized tariff preferences
formulated under and applied pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No. 2501/2001 of 10 December
2001 "applying a scheme of generalized tariff preferences for the period from 1 January 2002 to
31 December 2004"2 (the regulation is hereafter referred to as the "EC GSP scheme"). The request
was circulated to Members on 12 March 2002 in document The EC and India held
consultations in Geneva on 25 March 2002 with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory resolution
of the matter. Unfortunately, the consultations failed to settle the dispute.
India notes the following features of the EC GSP scheme:
1. The tariff preferences accorded under the special arrangements for combating drug
production and trafficking are available only to specified countries selected by the
EC; and
2. The tariff preferences accorded under the special incentive arrangements for the
protection of labour rights and the environment are accorded only to countries that are
determined by the EC to comply with certain labour and environmental policy
standards.
India considers that the tariff preferences accorded by the EC to developing countries under these
conditions are inconsistent with the GATT 1994 an d do not meet the requirements set out in the
Enabling Clause.
In view of the above, and pursuant to Articles 4.7 and 6 of the DSU and Article XX III:2 of
the GATT 1994, India hereby requests the Dispute Settlement Body (the "DSB") to establish a panel

1 L/4903, BISD 26S/203.
2 Official Journal L346, 31/12/2001.

to examine whether (i) the provisions of the EC GSP scheme granting tariff preferences under the
special arrangements for combating drug production and trafficking and the special incentive
arrangements for the protection of labour rights an d the environment, (ii) any implementing rules and
regulations, (iii) any amendments to any of the foregoing, and (iv) their application are consistent
with Article I:1 of the GATT 1994 and the requirements set out in paragraphs 2(a), 3(a) and 3 (c) of
the Enabling Clause.