"We are forced to take this matter to the WTO because we have exhausted all diplomatic avenues to try and find a solution," the European Commission’s trade spokesman John Clancy told journalists in Brussels yesterday (8 April).
The EU action triggers a 60-day consultation period between the bloc and Russia at the WTO. This could be followed by a formal disputes process if no agreement is reached in time. "We do look forward to Russia engaging in this consultation process with us to try to find a solution to this disproportionate ban, which has been in place for some weeks now and is impacting very severely on the EU industry as a whole," Clancy added.
Brussels argues the ban breaks WTO rules because it is applied to all EU live pigs and fresh pork meat, even when it comes from areas not affected by ASF. The closing of the Russian market to EU pork exports at the end of January cut off almost 25% of EU pork exports, according to the European Commission. EU statistics show that the European pork exports to Russia amounted to €1.4bn last year.
"The ban has a severe impact on the EU pig industry with a decrease of price and oversupply of pork on the EU market," a European Commission communiqué read.
Moreover, the ASF virus seems to have spread from Russia to Poland and Lithuania in the first place, Brussels argued. Speaking during a meeting of the European Parliament agriculture committee in Brussels yesterday, Ladislav Miko, deputy director general of the European Commission’s health directorate general (DG), said infected wild boars had strayed into the EU after being hunted in the border area of Belarus.
"Since 2007, Russia notified around 600 cases of ASF in wild boar and close to 400 outbreaks in domestic holdings," the European Commission statement read. It also pointed out that Russia did not impose any restriction on Belarus, where ASF cases have also been detected, nor did it close its entire market to domestic products – breaching WTO requirements that food health bans are based on science.
A representative from the permanent diplomatic mission of Russia to the EU could not provide immediate information about his government’s reaction to the EU’s move.