JAPAN-SOUTH KOREA/WTO Japan asks for WTO panel to rule on S. Korea's Fukushima-related food import restrictions

Record ID: 143101

  • Title: JAPAN-SOUTH KOREA/WTO Japan asks for WTO panel to rule on S. Korea's Fukushima-related food import restrictions
  • Date: 21st August 2015
  • Summary: KORIYAMA, FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE, JAPAN (FILE - 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STAFF AT FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE AGRICULTURAL CENTRE CUTTING UP FISH CAUGHT OFF COAST OF FUKUSHIMA TO PREPARE FOR RADIATION TESTING VARIOUS OF STAFF USING GEIGER COUNTER TO MEASURE RADIATION IN FISH STAFF PREPARING FISH SAMPLES FOR TESTING TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MAN MEASURING RAD
  • Embargoed: 5th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8XS2FNPPM9MEXY8L61QFZX135
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Japan on Thursday (August 20) asked the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set up a panel to rule on South Korea's import bans and testing requirements for Japanese food after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, since the restrictions show no signs of being eased.
    Japan launched a trade complaint at the WTO in May, saying the South Korean measures violated a WTO agreement and that Seoul had failed to justify the measures as required.
    Under WTO rules, South Korea has 60 days in which to deal with Japan's concerns in bilateral talks. After that Japan could ask the WTO to adjudicate on the matter.
    "The 60 days of the bilateral negotiation period mandated in WTO rules have passed, but there has been no sign of abolition of the restrictions by the South Korean government," Japanese Agriculture Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Friday (August 21).
    South Korea in May expressed regret at Japan's move and said then that the ban on some Japanese seafood was necessary and reflected safety concerns.
    Japan countered by saying levels were safe and that a number of other nations, including the United States and Australia, had lifted or eased Fukushima-related restrictions.
    "Our goal is an immediate abolition of the restrictions, and we'll use all available measures to urge the South Korean government," Hayashi said.
    South Korea extended its ban on Japanese fishery imports in September of 2013 to cover imports from eight Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima.
    Japan's representative told the WTO's sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) committee in March that radioactive levels in Japanese food had declined substantially since the accident. It noted that the United States, Australia, the European Union, Singapore and Vietnam had all lifted or eased their Fukushima-related restrictions.
    Last October, the Japanese representative at the WTO committee said contamination levels in more than 99 percent of food items were below standard limits, and strict measures prevented the sale or export of any food exceeding those limits.
    South Korea's representative told the same meeting that its restrictions were in line with the WTO rules, but Japan had not provided it with sufficient data for an objective and science-based risk assessment.
    The average annual value of South Korean imports of Japanese fish and seafood was $96 million in 2012-2014, less than half the average of $213 million in 2006-2010, according to data from the International Trade Centre in Geneva.
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