Indonesia – importation of horticultural products,
animals and animal products

Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the United States

        The following communication, dated 14 March 2013, from the delegation of the United States to the Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated pursuant to Article 6.2 of the DSU.

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        On January 10, 2013, the United States requested consultations with the Government of Indonesia ("Indonesia") pursuant to Articles 1 and 4 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes ("DSU"), Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 ("GATT 1994"), Article 19 of the Agreement on Agriculture ("Agriculture Agreement"), and Article 6 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures ("Import Licensing Agreement"), concerning certain measures imposed by Indonesia on the importation of horticultural products, animals, and animal products.^[1]  The United States held consultations with Indonesia on February 21 and 22, 2013.  Those consultations unfortunately did not resolve the dispute.

1  Import Licensing Regime for horticultural products

Indonesia imposes a non-automatic import licensing regime for horticultural products pursuant to which an importer must complete multiple steps prior to importing a horticultural product into Indonesia.  These steps include, first, an importer must obtain a Horticultural Product Import Recommendation ("RIPH")^[2] certificate from the Ministry of Agriculture.  When issuing the RIPH certificate, the Ministry of Agriculture considers factors such as production and availability of similar products domestically, domestic consumption of the product, and potential of the imported product to distort the market.  Second, an importer must apply to receive a designation as a Producer Importer of Horticultural Products or Registered Importer of Horticultural Products from the Ministry of Trade.  Third, for each imported product, the importer must apply to the Minister of Trade for import license by submitting the RIPH certificate and the designation.

The United States understands that the means through which Indonesia has maintained this licensing regime include:

·      Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 13 of Year 2010 Concerning Horticulture ("Law 13");

·      Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture Number 60/Permentan/OT.140/9/2012 Concerning Recommendation on the Importation of Horticultural Products ("MOA Regulation 60");

·      Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 30/M-DAG/PER/5/2012 Regarding Provisions on Import of Horticultural Products ("MOT Regulation 30");