The World Trade Organization on Tuesday agreed to appoint a group of experts to decide whether Mexico is violating global trade rules in a dispute with the United States over soft drinks.
Washington claims that Mexico is in breach of international law in imposing a 20 percent tax on drinks that are sweetened with anything other than cane sugar grown in Mexico.
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick says this locks out potential trade of hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. high fructose corn syrup. Mexico insists that its actions are in line with WTO rules.
The Mexican tax that is under dispute was imposed in 2002 - after the WTO ruled that Mexican duties on imported corn syrup violated international trade rules.
The Corn Refiners Association, a U.S. trade group, has said that reopening the market could create annual syrup sales worth $620 million and more than another $300 million in sales of corn to be processed into syrup.
The U.S. request for a panel came after the countries failed to reach agreement during consultations on the issues.
The panel's ruling likely will take around a year, and can be appealed.Associated Press Online:
