Colombia’s Anti-dumping Duties on Frozen Fries are in Breach of WTO Rules

The WTO decision affirming that Colombia's anti-dumping duties on frozen fries imported from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands violate WTO regulations and unfairly obstruct EU producers' access to the Colombian market is welcomed by the EU.

The Panel determined that several aspects of Colombia's anti-dumping investigation, including the evaluation of the dumping margin and the injury analysis, were flawed.

“The panel report has been appealed by Colombia pursuant to the Multi-party Interim Appeal Arbitration arrangement ('MPIA') and this appeal is currently pending. This is the first appeal to be heard under the MPIA. The MPIA has been put in place by its participating Members to ensure a functioning two-tier WTO dispute settlement system for their trade disputes despite the paralysis of the WTO’s Appellate Body,” an EU DG Trade press release shows.

If this decision is upheld on appeal, the EU hopes it will send a message to other nations planning to restrict EU exports of frozen fries or any other product that anti-dumping investigations must be conducted strictly following WTO regulations.

Unless the parties agree otherwise on the request of the appeal arbitrators, an appeal under the MPIA, to which Colombia and the EU are both parties, should be resolved within 90 days. Following the appeal's conclusion, Colombia will be required to repeal the measures, either immediately or within a time frame agreed upon with the EU or set by a WTO arbitrator, if the appeal arbitrators find that the measures are discriminatory.

In 2016, the three Member States exported EUR23m worth of frozen fries to Colombia. Nearly all (85% or EUR19.3m) of the EU's frozen fries exports to Colombia are subject to the two-year duties, which were enacted in November 2018.

The MPIA applies to this dispute (DS591), which the EU filed against Colombia in November 2019. Despite the paralysis of the WTO's Appellate Body, the MPIA ensures that disputes between Colombia, the European Union, and 26 other WTO Members that currently participate in the MPIA can continue to benefit from a working dispute settlement system at the WTO.

By preventing 'appeals into the void' before an inoperative Appellate Body, the MPIA preserves the parties' right to appeal panel decisions and ensures binding decisions. Within the WTO framework, appeal arbitration decisions are made and are enforceable against the parties.