WTO Dispute Settlement Proceeding Regarding European Communities' Tariff Treatment of Some Computer Equipment

Résumé

Pursuant to section 127(b)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) (19 U.S.C. 3537(b)(1)), the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is providing notice that the United States has requested the establishment of a dispute settlement panel under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO), to examine tariff increases by the European Communities (EC) and its member States on certain local area network (LAN) equipment and personal computers (PCs) with multimedia capacity. More specifically, the United States has requested the establishment of a panel to determine whether the EC has acted inconsistently with its obligations under Article II of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT 1994) in that the EC and its member States have increased tariffs above rates bound during the Uruguay Round for (1) LAN adapter cards, (2) other LAN equipment and (3) PCs with multimedia capability (including PCs with CD-ROM drives and cards enabling television reception.) USTR also invites written comments from the public concerning the issues raised in the dispute.