Shrimp/turtle

Shrimp/turtle in Global Commerce Policy

In this regard, shrimp/turtle is: a case brought before the WTO in 1997 by Thailand, Malaysia, India and Pakistan against the United States. The background to the case was that all sea turtles found in United States waters are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The entries on trade policy are here. In 1987 the United States issued regulations which required all shrimp trawlers to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs). Section 609 of Public Law 101-162, enacted in 1989, calls on the United States Secretary of State to negotiate bilateral and multilateral agreements for the protection and conservation of sea turtles. This law also provides that shrimp harvested with technology that may adversely affect certain sea turtles may not be imported into the United States unless the harvesting nation has a regulatory program and an incidental take rate comparable to that of the United States, or that the particular fishing environment of the harvesting nation does not pose a threat to sea turtles. The entries on trade policy in the Encyclopedia are here. Until 1995 Section 609 was applied only to countries of the Caribbean/Western Atlantic. The entries on trade policy are here. In December 1995 the United States Court of International Trade ruled that all imports of shrimp and shrimp products harvested in the wild with commercial technology having an adverse effect on sea turtles should be stopped by 1 May 1996. That ruling was put into effect. By 1 January 1998 19 countries had been certified as having adopted a harvesting program meeting the United States criteria. Some of these countries had received, or were receiving, technical and financial assistance from the United States to achieve certification. Some had also been granted longer transition periods for the introduction of TEDs. The entries on trade policy are here. Another 16 were certified as having shrimp fisheries in cold waters where there was little risk of taking sea turtles. The entries on trade policy are here. In its consideration of the panel report, issued on 15 May 1998, the Appellate Body agreed that the United States law met the requirements of GATT Article XX(g) on the conservation of natural resources, but it found that the way the United States had administered the law had resulted in arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination against the four complaining countries. The Appellate Body also found that even if shrimp were caught with TEDs, they could still not be exported to the United States unless the exporting country had a regulatory program comparable to that of the United States. The Appellate Body found that the United States discriminated against the four complaining countries by giving them less time to adapt to the new system than others had been given. This case created much public discussion. Some claimed that it showed the WTO ™s bias against environmental protection. The entries on trade policy are here. It is therefore important to remember that the Appellate Body report did not fault the United States program to conserve endangered sea turtles. What it did, however, was to fault the discriminatory way in which the United States had implemented it.[1]

Shrimp/turtlein the wold Encyclopedia

For an introductory overview on international trade policy, see this entry.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Dictionary of Trade Policy, “Shrimp/turtle” entry (OAS)

See Also