The European Union (EU) on Thursday requested the establishment of a dispute settlement panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to rule on the legality of the "recycling fee" which Russia imposes on imported vehicles.
This is the next step under WTO litigation procedures, after the EU has held formal consultations with Russia in July this year, the European Commission said in a statement on its website.
The fee, which the EU considers as discriminatory, has a "severe impact" on EU vehicle exports to Russia, worth 10 billion euros (about 13.5 billion U.S. dollars) a year, the Commission said.
The EU said it sent the request after failing to solve the issue through discussions in bilateral talks with Russia and in formal WTO consultations.
"We've used all the possible avenues to find with Russia a mutually acceptable solution", said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.
"As the fee continues to severely hamper exports of a sector that is key for Europe's economy, we are left with no choice but to ask for a WTO ruling to ensure Russia complies with its international obligations," he added.
An official of Russia's Economy Ministry was quoted by a Russian news agency that "it was disappointed the EU had gone to arbitration."
"We have expressed our serious disappointment at this decision. We are puzzled and don't understand it," Maxim Medvedkov, head of the ministry's trade department, told Interfax news agency.
Medvedkov said Russia had hoped to resolve the dispute through consultations, but that the EU had ignored its proposals.
The WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) will discuss the EU's request for the establishment of a panel when it meets on Oct. 22, 2013. At that meeting, Russia has the right to object to the establishment of the panel.
But if the EU raises the issue again at the following DSB meeting in November, Russia will be unable to block the request for a second time, said the European Commission.
相关新闻：欧盟委员会10日发布声明称，欧盟已经请求世界贸易组织(WTO)设立争端解决专家组来裁定俄罗斯去年针对进口汽车开始征收的报废“回收费”的合法性。
欧委会称，此举是依据WTO的诉讼程序，在今年7月欧盟与俄罗斯就该问题进行正式磋商以及在多次的欧俄双边会谈中磋商未果之后发起的。
俄罗斯自去年9月1日起针对进口小轿车、卡车、巴士和其他机动车辆征收报废“回收费”，费用从420欧元至1.72万欧元不等。欧委会称，欧盟认为这是对进口商品的“歧视”，对欧盟每年向俄罗斯价值100亿欧元的汽车出口产生严重影响。
欧盟称，虽然俄罗斯向欧盟的进口汽车征收“回收费”，但是该项收费并不适用于俄罗斯及其“关税联盟”伙伴国家――哈萨克斯坦和白俄罗斯生产的汽车，因此欧盟认为这与WTO禁止区别对待国产与进口产品的基本规则不相符。
欧盟委员会贸易委员德古赫特说，“我们已经用尽了所有可能的渠道以找到一个与俄罗斯能够共同接受的解决方案。但是，这项收费仍然在严重阻碍对于欧洲经济至关重要的出口行业，因此我们除了请求WTO裁决之外没有其他选择。”
俄罗斯经济部负责贸易事务的官员马克西姆?梅德韦德科夫当天接受当地媒体采访时表示，俄罗斯对于欧盟将此事诉诸WTO终裁感到失望，并表示，俄罗斯希望通过磋商解决这一问题，而欧盟对于这一提议置之不理。
此案是俄罗斯去年8月份“入世”以来卷入的首次重大贸易纠纷案件。
据欧委会介绍，WTO争端解决机构将在10月22日开会时讨论欧盟设立专家组裁决的请求，届时俄罗斯将有权反对设立专家组。如果欧盟在争端解决机构11月份举行的下次会议上再次提出请求，俄罗斯则不能再次反对。
欧盟官方统计数据显示，俄罗斯是欧盟的第三大贸易伙伴，欧盟是俄罗斯的第一大贸易伙伴。2012年，欧盟对俄出口1230亿欧元(约1664亿美元)，出口产品一般是包括汽车在内的机械与运输设备;进口2130亿欧元(约2881亿美元)，80%为原材料。(新华网)
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