New Zealand Joins U.S. Horticulture WTO Dispute with Indonesia
New Zealand will join the U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) challenge to Indonesian restrictive measures applied to horticultural products, animals and animal products, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman said on Aug. 30, adding that the U.S. is filing a request to “address recent modifications to Indonesia’s measures." Froman also said he welcomed New Zealand's entry into the dispute.
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Froman said the Interagency Trade Enforcement Center, an Obama Administration design, played a pivotal role in enabling commitment to address the Indonesian measures. “Consultations with Indonesia earlier this year failed to resolve our concerns with Indonesia’s unjustified and trade-restrictive import licensing system,” said Froman. “To the contrary, although Indonesia has revised its measures, they continue to pose a serious impediment to U.S. agricultural exports.”
The submission of a revised consultation request in conjunction with New Zealand’s filing will allow talks with Indonesia to be held together, USTR said. The two disputes could potentially be decided by a single panel as well, should the case develop to that point, USTR added.