ARGENTINA - MEASURES AFFECTING IMPORTS OF

                            FOOTWEAR, TEXTILES, APPAREL AND OTHER ITEMS

                             Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States

        The following communication, dated 9 January 1997, from the Permanent Mission of the United States to the Permanent Mission of Argentina and to the Dispute Settlement Body is circulated at the request of that delegation.

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        On 4 October 1996, the United States Government requested consultations with the Government of Argentina pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, Article XXII:1 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994), Article 14 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, Article 19 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, and Article 7 of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, regarding certain measures implemented by Argentina affecting imports of textiles, apparel, footwear and other items.  The measures in question included:

1.Resolutions 304/95, 305/95, 103/96, 299/96, Decree 998/95 and other measures which impose specific duties on various textile, apparel or footwear items in excess of the bound rate of 35 per cent ad valorem provided in Argentina'a Schedule LXIV;