Colombia has revoked all anti-dumping duties on imports of EU frozen fries from Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands, restoring full market access to the 85% of EU frozen fries exports which had been affected by the duties.
This restoration of full market access constitutes a complete resolution of the six-year-old WTO dispute between the EU and Colombia. The dispute demonstrates the effectiveness of the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) which maintains a fully-functioning dispute settlement system in the WTO, among the participating countries. It is the first dispute to reach the full compliance stage through the MPIA, of which both the EU and Colombia are members.
The anti-dumping duties on EU exports of frozen fries to Colombia were revoked by Colombian Resolution 108 of 11 March 2026. The value of EU exports concerned by the measure was approximately €19.3 million per year.
Background
The original anti-dumping duties imposed by Colombia on imports of frozen fries from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in 2018 were found to violate WTO anti-dumping rules both by a panel and the MPIA arbitrators in 2022. Colombia’s first attempt to implement the rulings was also found to be WTO-inconsistent by a compliance panel on 23 October 2025. Colombia’s second attempt at implementation of the panel compliance ruling, completed this week, is successful and has led to repeal of all duties.
The MPIA is a mechanism created by the EU and other Members in 2020 to preserve functioning dispute settlement in the absence of a working Appellate Body at the WTO. It covers 60% of world trade and has proven its effectiveness in many WTO disputes, notably also in the EU dispute with China on the enforcement of intellectual property rights.
The current MPIA members are Australia; Benin; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Ecuador; the European Union (and its Member States); Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Japan; Liechtenstein; Macao, China; Mexico; Malaysia; Moldova; Montenegro; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Norway; Pakistan; Paraguay; Peru; the Philippines; Singapore; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom; Uruguay; and Viet Nam.
