The lawsuit filed by the Mexican authorities against the Government of Costa Rica due to the ban to import Hass avocado from Mexico reached the stage of litigation before the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Since 2015, the government of Mexico has raised with its Costa Rican counterpart its concern about the measures adopted by the State Phytosanitary Service that affected the importation of avocados.
In this context, Mexico activated the WTO dispute settlement mechanism by presenting the request for consultations in March 2017. Despite the conversations that the countries held during this procedural phase with the objective of finding a satisfactory solution, it was not possible to reach an agreement.
By virtue of the foregoing, Mexico decided to continue with the next procedure and requested the establishment of a WTO panel on November 22nd. In the next meetings of the dispute settlement body of the WTO, the panel would be established automatically in accordance with the rules of this organization. From its establishment, a period is opened for the parties to agree on the members that will be part of it.
The Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) reported that due to the Costa Rican government’s defense strategy and because it is an ongoing case, it is not possible to refer the details of the process. However, the Government, through the Ministry in coordination with the Legal Advice Center of the WTO and the State Phytosanitary Service, will try to defend the interests of the country.