On April 26, Brazil will reactivate again on the agenda of the World Trade Organization, the complaint against Costa Rica for the imposition of a safeguard to increase the tariff on sugar.
Following in Brazil's footsteps, Canada warned the WTO about the possibility of imposing compensation against the Costa Rican authorities' policy of raising the tariff on imported sugar from 45% to 73%.
Due to the possible change in the regulations established by the European Union on the use of agrochemicals in the production of the fruit that enters their territory, exporters in the region are on the alert for the possible complications that this would generate in the commercialization.
In order to protect the health of consumers, European authorities could vary the maximum residue limits (MRL's) that food entering the region may contain.
After the Costa Rican authorities raised the tariff on imported sugar from 45% to 73%, the South American country decided to raise before the World Trade Organization, a process to exercise the right of suspension.
In June of this year, the Alvarado administration decided to increase to 79% and for the term of three years, the tariff on sugar entering the country.
Following Panama's blockade of the entry of animal products from Costa Rica, arguing that the permits have expired, Costa Rican authorities decided to notify the World Trade Organization of the dispute.
On July 10, Panama informed the National Animal Health Service (SENASA) of Costa Rica's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) of the decision not to extend export permits to a list of previously authorized Costa Rican establishments that have been exporting to Panama for many years.
The WTO was part of the panel of experts that will resolve Mexico's lawsuit against Costa Rica, arising from the barriers imposed by the Costa Rican authorities to import the fruit.
The trade conflict emerged because of the barriers that Costa Rica imposes since 2014 to the entry of avocado from Mexico. Because the dispute remains unresolved, the authorities of the North American country requested last November 27 to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to submit the case to an arbitration panel.
Because of the problem of the barriers that Costa Rica has imposed since 2014 to the entry of avocado from Mexico remains unsolved, the Mexican authorities asked the WTO to refer the case to an arbitration panel.
The blockade of the Mexican avocado does not end. The Ministry of Foreign Trade (Comex) reported that Mexico requested the WTO to establish a panel of arbitrators to solve the dispute.
Hass avocados from Mexico can be imported in containers, provided that they come certified as fruit containers that are free from the sunspot disease or from areas certified as free.
The proposal put forward by the State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) to the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures at the WTO, where the conflict between Costa Rica and Mexico is being resolved, establishes that the fruit may be imported in any of three circumstances: the fruit is sent with a certificate that guarantees that it does not have sunspot, with a certificate that comes from areas free of the disease, or where there is compliance with rules agreed bilaterally by the two countries.
The Mexican government has filed a complaint with the WTO against Costa Rica over the imposition of restrictions on imports of avocados, in place since May 2014.
Mexican authorities are tired of waiting and have decided to initiate a process with the World Trade Organization in order to resolve the problem, only days after Costa Rica suggested, as a possible solution to the conflict, the implementation of a laboratory test for imports of the fruit.
Employers indicate that taking the dispute to an arbitration panel will cost many millions of dollars and will result in indemnization payments, as it is clear that trade agreements and phytosanitary standards were breached.
The announcement by the Mexican authorities to take Costa Rica to a World Trade Organization (WTO) arbitration panel because of the dispute over avocados, has caused concern among employers who are members of the Chamber of Exporters and Importers of Perishable Goods (Ceipp).
The irreconcilable positions of both countries over phytosanitary measures for the Mexican product form the backdrop to a possible arbitration panel with the world trade body.
Since Costa Rica stopped issuing permits for the entry of Hass avocados from Mexico, for phytosanitary protectionism reasons, (the country argues they are protecting themselves from the disease known as sunspot), neither country has managed to convince the other through technical and political methods to reopen the market.
Guatemala and Mexico have joined forces in their complaints to the WTO over restrictions on the importation of Hass Avocados.
The concerns of these two countries were presented at the monthly meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the World Trade Organization, where Guatemala and Mexico also expressed concern about the trade impact of the measure imposed by Costa Rica.
The Russian trend of moving towards a healthier life style has positively influenced the consumption of canned vegetables, juices and nectars.
From an article by the Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
According to a study conducted by the firm Intesco Research Group in Russia, production of canned vegetables will increase with the population growth in large cities.
The question of how to handle potatoes cuts to the core of problems marring the Doha round, now in its seventh year.
The potato, celebrated by the United Nations this year as a cheap source of nourishment, is also turning heads in global free trade talks where both rich and poor countries are vying to protect their farmers.
Potatoes are on the list of "tropical and alternative" products that would get special treatment under the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) Doha round, an agreement aiming to boost global trade flows and help poor-country exporters.