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Colombia imposed anti-dumping duties of up to 8% in November
2018 on frozen fries from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany
after complaining that the prices of these imports were
artificially low.
Malmstrom said the move was completely unjustified and harmful
to European companies and that she had instructed EU trade
officials on Monday to launch a WTO challenge.
"We have made different efforts to reach out to Colombia over
the last two years, but we have not received a satisfactory
response and that is why we have decided to take this step to
protect our industry," she told a news conference.
Belgium, the self-proclaimed home of potato fries, urged the
European Union a year ago to launch legal action.
Although small in monetary terms - the EU as a whole exports
just 25 million euros ($27.6 million) of frozen fries to
Colombia per year - the dispute is big in symbolism particularly
for Belgium, which argues that it invented the "French" fry.
The first step in a WTO dispute is a 60-day period of
consultations. If these do not resolve the issue, the
complainant can ask for a WTO panel to adjudicate.
The EU and Colombia have had a trade deal in place since 2013.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
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