WTO Appellate Decision on EU Uniformity

The USTR announced yesterday (11/14/2006) a WTO Appellate Body finding that the EU fails to administer uniformly its customs laws with respect to liquid crystal display monitors. While this might seems like a narrowly focused issue, it has broader ramifications. First, the decision reaffirms the important principle that the EU needs to have uniformity across its 25 member states. This should be true for all merchandise, not just the liquid crystal display monitors. Second, the Appellate Body also held that the original panel should have considered the broader question of EU uniformity rather than limiting it to the LCD display question.

The full report and background is available here from the WTO.

In the U.S., this is seen as an important step toward giving exporters a uniform set of rules in Europe and, therefore, reducing costs and other burdens in trade with EU members.

Comments

public key infrastructure said…
Its now so old post related to the year 2006 to comment but hope that someone there might read my comment.Is it true that exporters have a uniform set of rules in Europe and, and reducing costs and other burdens in trade with EU members?
Feb 16, 2011, 5:51:00 AM
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