JAPAN – MEASURES AFFECTING THE IMPORTATION OF APPLES
Document: Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States
Date: 8 May 2002
Document codes: WT/DS245/2
Complainant: U.S.
Respondent: Japan
Third parties: Australia, Brazil, China, Taiwan, EU, New Zealand
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. XI  GATT 1994Art. 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)Art. 4.2  AgricultureArt. 5.5, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2, 7, Annex B  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)

JAPAN – MEASURES AFFECTING THE IMPORTATION OF APPLES
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States
The following communication, dated 7 May 2002, from the Permanent Mission of the
United States to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 6.2 of
the DSU.
Japan currently maintains measures restricting the importation of US apples in connection
with fire blight or the fire blight disease-causing organism, Erwinia amylovora. These restrictions
include: the prohibition of imported apples from US states other than Washington or Oregon; the
prohibition of imported apples from orchards in which any fire blight is detected; the prohibition of
imported apples from any orchard (whether or not it is free of fire blight) should fire blight be
detected within a 500 meter buffer zone surrounding such orchard; the requirement that export
orchards be inspected three times yearly (at blossom, fruitlet, and harvest stages) for the presence of
fire blight for purposes of applying the above-mentioned prohibitions; a post-harvest surface
treatment of exported apples with chlorine; production requirements, such as chlorine treatment of
containers for harvesting and chlorine treatment of the packing line; and the post-harvest separation
of apples for export to Japan from those apples for other destinations. The means through which
Japan maintains these restrictions include the Plant Protection Law (Law No. 151; enacted
4 May 1950), as amended; the Plant Protection Regulations (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and
Fisheries Ordinance No. 73; enacted 30 June 1950), as amended; Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries Notification No. 354 (dated 10 March 1997); and related detailed rules and regulations,
including Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Circular 8103.
These measures appear to be inconsistent with the commitments and obligations of Japan
under Article XI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), Article 4.2 of
the Agreement on Agriculture , and Articles 2.2, 2.3, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.5, 5.6, 6.1, 6.2 and 7 and
paragraphs 5, 6 and 8 of Annex B of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures (SPS Agreement). Japan's measures also appear to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to
the United States directly or indirectly under the cited agreements.
On 1 March 2002, the United States requested consultations with Japan regarding these
measures pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Article XXIII of the GATT 1994, Article 11 of the SPS Agreement,
and Article 19 of the Agreement on Agriculture (WT/DS245/1). Consultations were held on
18 April 2002, but have failed to resolve the matter.
Accordingly, the United States respectfully requests the Dispute Settlement Body to establish
a panel pursuant to Article 6 of the DSU, with standard terms of reference as set out in Article 7.1 of
the DSU.