import restrictions on bovine semen and embryos milk and milk products in march 1999 the european communities noted it had been unable to obtain the text of argentinas measure on bovine semen imports and was submitting a series of questions. argentina indicated that the measure had been notified g sps n arg 37 . it clarified that the request for the full text of the measure had not been received from the commission but from several ec member states. argentina committed to sending the relevant document to the european commission. in july 1999 the european communities again expressed concern regarding argentinas bse-related restrictions on bovine semen milk and milk products. g sps n arg 38 concerned a draft measure which classified these products as low-risk products. subsequently notified import requirements g sps n arg 47 established country freedom from bse or low bse risk as preconditions for importing frozen bovine semen although according to the oie bovine semen from healthy animals could be traded without bse-related restrictions. the european communities indicated that it had received no answers to the questions raised in march 1999 and raised several new questions. argentina replied that it had provided answers to the ec questions both bilaterally and in g sps gen 135. argentina had received several comments on the measure notified in g sps n arg 47 and had taken these comments into account. argentina was planning to issue a revision of g sps n arg 47 and was committed to continue exchanging information with the european communities to resolve all questions before the measure was adopted. in november 2000 the european communities stated that argentina was applying import restrictions on bovine semen that went well beyond international recommendations and were not justified. the european communities would continue to pursue this issue bilaterally and was hopeful of a resolution. argentina replied that it had notified in advance its regulation as g sps n arg 47 which was subsequently revised following comments by the european communities and others g sps n arg 47 rev.1 . this regulation established criteria not only in relation to bse concerns but also to two other diseases. argentina had resolved the problems identified bilaterally by many ec member states in particular germany and france. furthermore an argentine veterinary mission would be visiting various ec member states early in december and was prepared to also address this issue at that time. in july 2001 the european communities referred to the information on bse circulated by oie and who concluding that there was no evidence of bse transmission via milk collected from healthy animals g sps gen 221 222 and 230 . however argentina was still imposing import restrictions on ec dairy products in particular from the united kingdom. the european communities had replied to argentinas extensive questionnaire but argentina had failed to provide a risk assessment to justify its measures. the european communities urged argentina either to provide a scientific justification or to lift the trade restrictions. otherwise the european communities would have to consider an eventual recourse to article 12.2 consultation procedures. argentina replied that in january 2001 its animal health service had adopted a resolution which imposed restrictions on dairy products. a new less restrictive sanitary certificate would be notified soon. regarding human health dairy products had been reclassified from medium to low risk and the relevant decree eliminated the restrictions. this reclassification was not yet complete and one category of milk remained under restriction. the united kingdom was considered a high-risk country but the situation was under analysis. in october 2001 the european communities indicated that despite statements from the argentine authorities that dairy products would be reclassified argentina continued to place restrictions on baby food and on baileys from ireland be