EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - REGIME FOR THE IMPORTATION, SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF BANANAS
Document: SECOND RECOURSE TO ARTICLE 21.5 OF THE DSU BY ECUADOR Communication from Ecuador and the European Union 1
Date: 11 January 2010
Document codes: WT/DS27/97
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

SECOND RECOURSE TO ARTICLE 21.5 OF THE DSU BY ECUADOR

Communication from Ecuador and the European Union
1

 The following communication, dated 7 Ja nuary 2010, from the delegation of the
European Union and the delegation of Ecuador to the Chairman of the Dispute Settlement Body, is
circulated at the request of these delegations.

 As reported at the last DSB meeting of 21 D ecember 2009, Ecuador, the European Union and
a number of other Members have initialled the so called Geneva Agreemen t on Trade in Bananas
("hereinafter "the Agreement"). The Agreemen t has been notified to the General Council on
15 December 2009 in Document WT/L/784.

 The Agreement provides, inter alia, that the dispute DS27 European Communities – Regime
for the Importation, Sale and Distribution of B ananas: Second Recourse to Article 21.5 by Ecuador
(hereinafter "the dispute") shall be settled upon certification of the EU's new banana tariff schedule
(paragraph 5 of the Agreement). The European Un ion will file its new banana tariff schedule for
certification as soon as the Agreement has entered in to force (paragraph 4(b) of the Agreement).
Currently, all necessary steps are being taken to prepare for signature and ratification of the
Agreement.

 Paragraph 5 of the Agreement further provid es that within two weeks after certification,
Ecuador and the European Union shall jointly notify the DSB, pursuant to Article 3.6 of the DSU, that
they have reached a mutually agreed solution through which they have agreed to end this dispute.

 Pending the settlement of the dispute in accordan ce with paragraph 5 of the Agreement, and
without prejudice to the commitment undertaken under paragraph 6 of th e Agreement, Ecuador
reserves all of its rights under this dispute and tho se relating to the surveillance of the implementation
of the adopted recommendations and rulings of th e DSB, as provided for under Article 21.6 of the
DSU.

1 On 1 December 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon amendi ng the Treaty on Europe an Union and the Treaty
establishing the European Commun ity (done at Lisbon, 13 December 2007) entered into force. On
29 November 2009, the WTO received a Verbal Note (WT/L/779) from the Council of the European Union and
the Commission of the European Communities stating that, by virtue of the Treaty of Lisbon, as of
1 December 2009, the European Union replaces and succeeds the European Community.

 In light of these circumstances, Ecuador and th e European Union agree that it is not necessary
for the European Union to continue to provide status reports in this dispute while the European Union
is taking the necessary steps to implement the terms of the Agreement. Instead, the European Union
shall keep Ecuador and other interested Members pe riodically informed of its internal processes to
implement the terms of the Agreement. Ecuador an d the European Union also agree that under the
current circumstances neither will put the implemen tation of the rulings and recommendations in this
dispute on the agenda of the DSB. However, Ecua dor reserves its right to do so should it deem it
necessary or appropriate.