South Africa Requests 2 WTO Dispute Panels on EU's Citrus Fruit Restrictions

South Africa requested the establishment of two dispute panels to review EU restrictions on South African citrus fruit at the June 24 Dispute Settlement Body, marking the first time South Africa has used the dispute settlement system, the World Trade Organization announced. The measures are import restrictions to control the spread of the false coding moth and a fungus called the "citrus black spot."

South Africa said the measures weren't based on "scientific principles, are maintained without sufficient scientific evidence, and are more trade-restrictive than necessary to achieve the EU's appropriate level of protection," according to the WTO. The nation also said the EU "failed to account for regional differences with regards to pest risk in the application of these measures."

The EU said it "regretted South Africa's decision to pursue panel proceedings in the two cases but maintained that its pest control measures are entirely justified and that it would succeed in any dispute proceedings," according to the WTO. The bloc said it wasn't ready to agree at this meeting to the requests for panels.