EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - TRADE DESCRIPTION OF SCALLOPS
Document: Original: Spanish EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - TRADE DESCRIPTION OF SCALLOPS Request for the Establishment of a Panel by Peru
Date: 15 September 1995
Document codes: WT/DS12/6
Complainant: Peru
Respondent: EU
Third parties: Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, U.S.
Dispute stage: Mutually Agreed Solution
Agreements cited: Art. I, III  GATT 1994Art. 2, 12  Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - TRADE DESCRIPTION OF SCALLOPS
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by Peru
The following communication, dated 14 September 1995, from the Permanent Mission of Peru
to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body is circulated at the request of that Delegation.
I refer to the consultations which the Government of Peru requested with the European Union
concerning the trade description of pectinidae (scallops).
On 18 July 1995, the Government of Peru formally requested the European Union to hold
consultations concerning the French Government Order NOR MERP9300051 A and subsequent
amendments thereto laying down the official names and trade descriptions of pectinidae (scallops).
Peru's request was circulated to WTO Members in document WT/DS/12/1.
Pursuant to that request, the delegations of Peru and the European Union held a consultation
meeting in Geneva on 10 August in order to find a solution to this problem.
Unfortunately, to this date, when the 60-day time-limit established by Article 4.7 of the
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes is about to expire, it
has been impossible to arrive at a satisfactory result that would restore the competitive position of the
Peruvian product by eliminating the restrictions currently imposed on it. Peru is pursuing its efforts
to find a mutually satisfactory solution within the consultation period provided for by the Understanding
on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.
Nevertheless, if upon the expiry of the 60-day consultation period, counting from 18 July,
date of receipt of our request, this issue has not been resolved, Peru reserves the right to request, at
the forthcoming meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body on 27 September, the establishment of a panel
pursuant to Article XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994, Article 14
of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and Articles 4 and 6 of the Understanding on Rules
and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.
I therefore ask you to include the request of Peru for the establishment of a panel in the agenda
for the meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body on 27 September 1995. To this end I enclose herewith
the text of a communication requesting the establishment of the above-mentioned panel, which I shall
send to the parties concerned if a mutually satisfactory solution to this matter is not found upon the
expiry of the 60 days provided for consultations.

ANNEX
I have the honour to refer to the trade description of pectinidae (scallops).
On 18 July 1995, the Government of Peru formally requested the European Union to hold
consultations concerning the French Government Order NOR MERP9300051 A of 22 March 1993
and subsequentamendments thereto laying down the official names and trade descriptions of pectinidae.
Peru's request for consultations was circulated to Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO)
in document WT/DS12/1 of 25 July 1995.
The Government of Peru requested the above-mentioned consultations in order to restore the
competitivepositionof thePeruvian product,whosescientificnameis"argopecten purpuratus",because
the above-mentioned French provisions unilaterally restrict the use of the trade description of "coquille
Saint Jacques" and "noix de coquille Saint Jacques", thus affecting and belittling the Peruvian product
both economically and commercially.
Pursuant to that request, the delegations of Peru and the European Union held consultations
on 10 August 1995 in Geneva with a view to finding a satisfactory solution to this matter.
Unfortunately,theconsultationsfailed toresolvethe problem. In accordance withArticleXXIII
of GATT 1994, Article 14 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and Articles 4 and 6 of
the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, the Government
of Peru requests the establishment of a panel at the next meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body
scheduled for 27 September 1995.
Peru requests that the panel consider and find that the above-mentioned French Order and the
subsequent amendments thereto are:
(a) inconsistent with Articles 2 and 12 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade;
(b) inconsistent with Articles I and III of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) 1994; and
(c) nullifyingand impairingbenefitsaccruing toPeru underthe WorldTrade Organization.
The Government of Peru requests that the panel be established with the standard terms of
reference as set out in Article 7 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement
of Disputes.
Lastly, the Government of Peru requests that a panel be established at the meeting of the Dispute
Settlement Body on 27 September, the date at which the 60-day period provided for in Article 4.7
of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes will have expired.