PANAMA ‑ MEASURES CONCERNING THE IMPORTATION
OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS FROM COSTA RICA

REQUEST TO JOIN CONSULTATIONS

Communication from Bolivia

The following communication, dated 27 January 2021 from the delegation of Bolivia to the delegations of Panama and Costa Rica, is circulated to the Dispute Settlement Body in accordance with Article 4.11 of the DSU.

_______________

Pursuant to Article 4.11 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, the Plurinational State of Bolivia hereby notifies the Government of the Republic of Panama, the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica and the Dispute Settlement Body that Bolivia wishes to be joined in the consultations requested by Costa Rica in the documents circulated to WTO Members on 14 January 2021 (WT/DS599/1, G/AG/GEN/179, G/SPS/GEN/1873, G/L/1383) entitled "Panama ‑ Measures concerning the importation of certain products from Costa Rica", in accordance with the provisions of Article XXII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994.

This request is based on the Bolivian Government's substantial trade interest in strengthening national capacity to deal with possible sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures that may be adopted by WTO Members. Specifically, the adoption and application of covered measures to protect a specific sector, restrictive measures aimed at limiting trade between Parties, measures not based on technical and/or scientific principles and not supported by risk assessment, and discriminatory measures between WTO Members who find themselves in identical or similar sanitary or phytosanitary conditions, among others.

Similarly, the sister Republic of Panama, like the rest of countries in Central America, constitutes a potential market for the diversification of Bolivian agricultural exports such as: beef and beef products, primary and processed agricultural products, primary and processed fruit products, and bee honey, among others.

For this reason, Bolivia has a national interest in knowing the SPS requirements of these countries with a view to avoiding unnecessary export conflicts and complying with the provisions of WTO rules and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

Lastly, a copy of this letter is being sent to the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica and the Chairperson of the Dispute Settlement Body.