29/08/2014 |
Argentina will appeal a World Trade Organization ruling against its use of import restrictions, according to a senior Argentine official...
The panel said the rules violated WTO agreements, and urged the government of President Cristina Fernandez to bring them in line with international trade regulations.
EU Trade Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, had welcomed the ruling that certain conditions which Argentina introduced for firms wishing to import goods into the country break WTO law.
De Gucht said, “This case sends an important signal that protectionism is not acceptable. I call on Argentina to move quickly to comply with the ruling of the WTO panel and remove these illegal measures, and open the way for EU goods to compete fairly on the Argentine market.”
The country would appeal the ruling, confirmed deputy economy minister Emmanuel Alvarez in comments on the radio: “Argentine customs are not closed, but looked after”.
The United States, EU and Japan had argued that Argentina did not automatically grant licenses to importers as required by WTO rules, allowing it to shield its vulnerable economy.
However, Alvarez Agis forecasted that the WTO ruling will not have an immediate impact on Argentine exports. “They are not really sanctions, they are demands for some adjustments, corrections. This does not mean we are going to have customs wide open and be exposed to a flood of imports”.
He added that there were over 40 measures formulated but only three were received, “and precisely from the three countries which have received most reports; the US currently faces 121 demands and the EU, 79. Even Argentina has posted demands against the US and the EU, such is the case of beef and citrus and bio-diesel in the second case”.
Argentina's economy entered into recession in the first quarter of 2014 and its exports are under pressure, while central bank reserves have been strained by a lack of access to international bond financing.
Source:
Mercopress
