By Prensa Latina,
Geneva : Cuba and a group of member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) renewed Wednesday criticism of the United States and requested it comply with agreements from the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB).
In a WTO session dedicated to pending DSB cases, Jorge Ferrer, minister-counselor of the Cuban mission in Geneva, termed unacceptable that Washington still doesn’t obey resolutions adopted within the organization.
This is an issue on the agenda for over six years, the case of the US Budget Assignment Act’s 211 section, allowing the use of the Bacardi Company from the Havana Club Rum on the US market, he stated.
Delegations from India, Brazil, China, Thailand, Mexico and Vietnam, participated in this point. Also, plaintiff European Communities demanded from the United States the immediate derogation of this Section.
Ferrer said the Marrakech Accord “clearly and unequivocally provides in its article XVI.4 that all members have to assure their laws, regulations and administrative procedures are in accordance with the WTO Accords.”
The diplomat said in his speech that Cuba requests immediate derogation of the 211 Section, which questioned the functioning of the Multilateral Trading System.
The Cuban representative noted that the DSB decisions and resolutions “are not an optional menu to choose which to fulfill and which to breach,” and stressed that Washington has dragged out the issue for years.
The 211 Section damages interests of Cuban brands, which is unacceptable and contrary to Accords from the WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organization, he stated.