February 11, 2006	Saturday	Muharram 12, 1427

GENEVA, Feb 10: A World Trade Organization panel on Friday rejected a US complaint against alleged disparities in the application of the European Union’s customs system, trade sources said.

The dispute settlement panel, which was set up last year by the trade body to examine the complaint, turned down the challenge over what Washington had called “non-uniform application of customs legislation” in the 25 EU member states, said trade officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Washington argued that the situation penalized US exports.

When the US brought the case before the WTO, the EU reacted by saying that Washington had failed to provide evidence of practical problems resulting from EU customs measures.

Friday’s confidential ruling pointed to some “classification problems” in the EU system but rejected claims that there were broad “systemic inadequacies”, said an official, without elaborating.—AFP