PANEL TO GO INTO CANADA-EEC DISPUTE OVER NEWSPRINT.

Mar 15, 1984

PANEL TO GO INTO CANADA-EEC DISPUTE OVER NEWSPRINT.

GENEVA, MARCH 13 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN) – The GATT Council agreed Tuesday to name a panel to go into Canada’s dispute with the EEC over the latter’s quota on newsprint imports.-

The dispute relates to the final stages of the agreement between the EEC and EFTA (European Free Trade Association).-

Under this agreement, as from the beginning of this year, the previous quota arrangements on supplier of newsprint from the Scandinavian countries ended. The EEC has now fixed for 1984 a quota of 500.000 tons of newsprint.-

Canada contended that while the newsprint imports into the EEC was "bound" in the GATT tariff schedules, and was to be free of duty for 1.5 million tons, the Community had now unilaterally reduced the quota without any reason.-

EEC-Canada bilateral consultations, Canada said, had not yielded any results, and GATT Council should now name a panel.-

The EEC expressed "surprise" at the "rather rapid recourse" to the dispute settlements procedure, and suggested that it could still reach agreement with the EEC without a panel.-

Though the Council has now agreed to a panel, whose membership and terms of reference are to be settled after consultations, the EEC and Canada are still expected to continue consultations for an accord.-