russias measures on live pigs and pork products due to african swine fever in march 2014 the european union raised concerns regarding measures taken by russia in response to the finding of african swine fever asf virus in four wild boar in two eu member states lithuania and poland g sps gen 1305 and g sps gen 1313 . the european union had immediately delimited the affected areas and imposed stringent control measures. however russia had banned imports of live pigs pork and certain other products from the entire eu territory not just from the affected regions. russias claim that it was concerned about the spread of the disease into its own territory was unfounded as asf was widespread in russia. the disease was present in both wild boar and domestic pig populations in russia as russia had taken insufficient measures to prevent the spread of asf virus. scientific studies showed that the virus found in lithuania and poland originated in russia. the european union thus contended that russias measure was disproportionate more trade restrictive than necessary and discriminatory and urged russia to bring its measures in line with its wto obligations and with international standards. russia noted that asf had inflicted significant damage on the russian economy since the first outbreak was confirmed in 2008. after this outbreak and much mortality among susceptible animals a special commission was established in 2013 for the prevention and eradication of asf. during this period russia had kept all trading partners fully informed on possible vectors of spread and had requested that the european union consolidate its efforts for asf control. apparently the european union had underestimated the degree of the threat. russia stressed that it imposed temporary restrictions on the importation of live pigs and pig products not subjected to adequate heat treatment only from those countries that had made relevant notifications to the oie poland and lithuania not other eu member states. however russia insisted on eu compliance with the requirements of the veterinary certificates agreed in december 2012. these required certification that no cases of asf had been found during the last 36 months within the territory of an eu member state excluding sardinia . there were currently insufficient guarantees that a zone or compartment had been effectively established and that the movement of goods within the eu territory was fully controlled. furthermore this was not a matter that could only be resolved without the involvement of the other members of the eurasian economic community belarus and kazakhstan. see also g sps gen 1315. in accordance with the provisions of the understanding on rules and procedures governing the settlement of disputes dsu the european union requested consultations with russia on 8 april 2014 wt ds475 1 . the dispute settlement body dsb established a panel on 22 july 2014 wt ds475 3 . the panel report was issued on 19 august 2016 wt ds475 r . the appellate body report was issued on 23 february 2017 wt ds475 ab r . the european union requested the authorization to suspend concessions pursuant to article 22.2 of the dsu. the russian federation objected to the level of suspension of concessions and referred the matter to arbitration pursuant to article 22.6 of the dsu on 19 july 2016 wt ds430 17 . article 21.5 consultations requested on 30 january 2018 by russian federation and 7 february 2018 by european union . the european union requested the establishment of a compliance panel pursuant to article 21.5 of the dsu on 18 october 2018 wt ds475 21 . the dsb established a compliance panel art. 21.5 on 5 december 2018 wt ds475 22 .