STC Number - 76
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Ban on pet food imports

Maintained by: Turkey
Raised by: Hungary
Supported by: European Union; United States of America
First date raised: March 2000 G/SPS/R/26 para. 6
Dates subsequently raised: June 2002 (G/SPS/R/27 paras. 129-130)
Number of times subsequently raised: 1
Relevant documents: G/SPS/GEN/316 WT/DS256/1
Products covered: 2309 Preparations of a kind used in animal feeding.
Primary subject keyword: Animal Health
Keywords: Animal health; Human health; Zoonoses
Status: Resolved
Solution: Dispute settlement WT/DS256. Consultations requested on 3/05/2002 (WT/DS256/1). DSU consultations pending. In June 2004, the representative of Turkey informed the Committee that Turkey had lifted its ban on imports on pet foods from Hungary (G/SPS/R/34, par. 57).
Date reported as resolved: 22/06/2004

Extracts from SPS Committee meeting summary reports

In March 2000, the representative of Hungary stated that in March 2001, Turkey had banned the importation of pet food from all European countries as a result of the BSE epidemic. Although Hungary was a BSE-free country, it was included in the ban's coverage due to the Turkish authorities' concern about cross-infection. After the Turkish authorities had provided an explanation in June 2001, Hungarian companies stopped using raw materials derived from ruminants in pet food mixes. However, the ban on Hungarian exports remained in place. The Hungarian representative asked where the Turkish regulation was published and when it had been notified to the WTO. He requested an explanation of the underlying scientific justification for the import ban and asked whether Turkish suppliers were treated identically to foreign suppliers. The representative of Turkey replied that the problem may have arisen as a result of some missing laboratory analysis, as no import ban was in place. Once that information had been provided, the importation procedures would be complete. The representatives of the United States and European Communities associated themselves with the comments made by Hungary and requested that they be kept informed by Turkey of further developments.

In June 2002, the representative of Hungary recalled that in March, her country had submitted several questions to Turkey. However, Turkey had not provided an official response. Hungary had requested consultations under the DSU on 5 May 2002. Although some progress had been made at the consultations, the problem was still pending. Hungary hoped to find an amicable solution by the 5 July 2002 DSU deadline.

In June 2004, the representative of Turkey informed the Committee that Turkey had lifted its ban on imports on pet foods from Hungary and had also resolved the issue of restrictions on banana imports from Ecuador. He requested that document G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.4 reflect these updates (paragraphs 464 and 471).