EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - REGIME FOR THE IMPORTATION, SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF BANANAS
Document: Request for Consultations by Panama Addendum
Date: 30 April 1998
Document codes: WT/DS105/1/Add.2; G/L/199/Add.2; G/LIC/D/15/Add.2; G/TRIMS/D/11/Add.2; S/L/41
Complainant: U.S.
Respondent: Brazil
Third parties: Dominican, Honduras, India, Japan
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. 27.1, 28.1  Intellectual Property (TRIPS)

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - REGIME FOR THE IMPORTATION,
SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF BANANAS
Request for Consultations by Panama
Addendum
The following communication, dated 20 April 1998, from the Permanent Mission of Panama
to the Permanent Delegation of the European Commission and to the Dispute Settlement Body, is
circulated in accordance with Article 4.4 of the DSU.
On behalf of the Permanent Mission of Panama to the I hereby request
you, in your capacity as representative of the Permanent Delegation of the European Commission to
the , to continue the consultations with the European Communities that were
initiated last December 1997 with a view to examining, with particular emphasis, the "Proposal for
a Council Regulation (EC) amending Council Regulation (EEC) No. 404/93 on the common organization
of the market for bananas and the Recommendation for a Council Decision authorizing the Commission
to negotiate with countries having a substantial interest in the supply of bananas in order to reach an
Agreement on the allocation of tariff quotas and the traditional ACP quantity (submitted by the
Commission) COM/98/4 final - 98/0013 (CNS)" adopted by the European Commission on
14 January 1998and currently awaiting approval by the Council of Ministers, as wellas any subsequent
legislation, regulations and/or administrative measures adopted by the European Communities which
implement,supplementoramendthesaidproposal,includingthosereflecting,maintainingorreinstating
the provisions of the Framework Agreement on Bananas.
This request is made on the basis of Article 4 of the Understanding on the Rules and Procedures
Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) 1994, ArticleXXII of the General Agreement onTrade inServices (GATS) and Article 6
of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (to the extent that it is related to Article XXII of
the GATT 1994).
The Government of Panama takes the view that the discriminatory quota allocation provisions,
the licensing provisions which permit the maintenance of discriminatory and insufficiently transparent
regulations, and the provisions adopted by the European Commission on 14 January 1998, currently
awaitingapproval bythe Council of Ministers, are clearly inconsistent withthe EuropeanCommunities'

WT/DS105/1/Add.2, G/L/199/Add.2,
G/LIC/D/15/Add.2, S/L/41/Add.2,

obligations under Article XIII of the GATT 1994, and raise doubts as to their consistency with
Articles I, II and III of that Agreement, Articles II and XVII of the GATS and Articles 1 and 3 of
the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.
These provisions also appear to nullify or impair benefits accruing to Panama directly or
indirectly as a result of the cited Agreements and to hinder attainment of the objectives of those
Agreements.