EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – REGIME FOR THE IMPORTATION, SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF BANANAS
Document: Recourse by the United States to Article 22.7 of the DSU
Date: 9 April 1999
Document codes: WT/DS27/49
Complainant: Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, U.S.
Respondent: EU
Third parties: Belize, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican, Ghana, Grenada, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Suriname, Venezuela, Côte d’Ivoire, Brazil, Madagascar
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. I, II, III, X, XI, XIII  GATT 1994Art. 1, 3  Import LicensingArt. II, XVI, XVII  Services (GATS)Art. 2  Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)Art. 19  Agriculture

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES – REGIME FOR THE IMPORTATION,
SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF BANANAS
Recourse by the United States to Article 22.7 of the DSU
The following communication, dated 7 April 1999, from the Permanent Mission of the United
States to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 22.7 of the
DSU.
Pursuant to Article 22.7 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes (DSU), the United States requests authorization from the Dispute Settlement
Body (DSB) to suspend the application to the European Communities (EC), and member States
thereof, of tariff concessions and related obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade 1994 (GATT), in an amount equivalent to th e level of the nullification or impairment, as
determined by the arbitrator pursuant to DSU Article 22.7 in "".
The United States previously circulated a request to the DSB for authorization of suspension
of concessions pursuant to DSU Article 22.2, in document That request presented the
relevant background concerning the EC's failure to implement the DSB's recommendations and
rulings concerning the EC's banana regime, the level of nullification or impairment of benefits
accruing to the United States, and the measures contemplated by the United States.
On 29 January 1999, the DSB referred this matter to arbitration pursuant to DSU Article 22.6.
On 6 April 1999, the arbitrators issued their decision as follows:
"AWARD AND DECISION OF THE ARBITRATORS"
"8.1 In light of the foregoing considerations, the Arbitrators determine that the
level of nullification or impairment suffered by the United States in the matter
"European Communities – Import Regime for the Import, Sale and Distribution of
Bananas is US$191.4 million per year. Accordingly, the Arbitrators decide that the
suspension by the United States of the application to the European Communities and
its member States of tariff concessions and related obligations under GATT 1994
covering trade in a maximum amount of US$191.4 million per year would be
consistent with Article 22.4 of the DSU".
Article 22.7 of the DSU provides that the DSB shall upon request grant authorization to suspend
concessions or other obligations consistent with the decision of the arbitrator. The United States
therefore requests that the DSB authorize it to suspend concessions in an amount up to $191.4 million
per year, which is consistent with the arbitrator's decision.