Eu Wants Panel

The official said the EU request for a panel had been forwarded to the WTO for inclusion on the agenda of a meeting on October 16 of the organisation's dispute settlement body (DSB). EU foreign ministers decided earlier this week to press ahead with the case in the WTO despite a major diplomatic effort by Washington to keep the potentially explosive dispute out of the fledgling trade body.

The US is almost certain to block creation of a panel on October 16, as permitted under DSB rules, but if the EU renewed the request as expected at the body's next meeting the panel would be set up automatically. The Helms-Burton law, which has been condemned by all major US trading partners including Canada and Mexico, allows US citizens to sue foreign firms who invest in property confiscated after the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Washington argues that the issue is a matter of national security, covered by a rarely-used provision of long-existing world trade rules which allows any WTO member to suspend operation of overall trade agreements.