Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 7/1/14


The European Union (EU) has requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to rule over a dispute concerning the Russian ban on imports of pigs and their genetic material, fresh pork and certain other pig products from the EU, in light of several cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Lithuania and Poland.

The EU believes that the Russian import restrictions are incompatible with the WTO. Officials from Russia and the EU met on April 30 and May 1, but neither side settled on a solution. Subsequent bilateral discussions also did not bring any progress.
"Russia's import restrictions on European pork are clearly disproportionate, discriminatory and not based on science," said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht in a news release. "As this goes against international trade rules, Europe has no choice but to request the establishment of a panel at the WTO."

"The EU immediately put in place measures to contain the spread of the disease. Thus, EU products from the non-affected areas are perfectly safe. Despite our efforts over the last five months and the numerous bilateral contacts we had with Russia, there is no sign that Russia will allow trade to resume from the unaffected areas in the EU," added EU Commissioner for health Tonio Borg.

In the five months the ban has been in place, European pork producers have lost exports worth more than $790 million. In the year preceding the Russian restrictions, the value of EU pork exports to Russia reached $1.9 billion, which was approximately 25 percent of the whole EU exports. Russia is the EU's third largest trading partner, and the EU is Russia's second largest export destination for agricultural products.

Upon joining the WTO in 2012, Russia promised that its measures protecting animal life and health would be based on science, not overly restrictive trade.

In addition to stepping up surveillance, the EU immediately imposed measures to prevent any further spread of ASF once it reached the areas bordering Russia and Belarus.

Yet since the earliest outbreaks in January 2014, Russia has refused to accept imports from the non-affected areas in the EU and maintains a ban that is not based on scientific evidence nor on a proper risk assessment, according to the EU. Russia also has not amended the export certificate that would allow trade from the unaffected areas in the EU to resume.

Russia closed its market to EU live pigs, pork and other related products – cutting off almost 25 percent of all EU exports – at the end of January 2014. It based its decision on four cases of African swine fever (ASF) detected in wild boars at the Lithuanian and Polish borders with Belarus.

The EU’s request for the establishment of a WTO panel likely will be discussed for the first time at a special meeting of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on July 10. At that meeting Russia can object to the establishment of the panel, under the dispute settlement rules of the WTO. If the EU tables the issue again at the following DSB meeting on July 22, Russia would not be able to object and, consequently, the panel would be established.

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