Category: World Trade Organization
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WTO to Field Dispute over India’s Restrictions on U.S. Poultry
The World Trade Organization (WTO) recently agreed to a convene a dispute settlement panel to investigate India’s restrictions on the importation of U.S. poultry, eggs and other agriculture products purportedly due to concerns over avian influenza. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) apparently requested the panel after failing to resolve the dispute during an April 16-17,…
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U.S. Appeals WTO’s Stance on COOL Regulations
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has appealed a ruling made by a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel against the United States in a dispute with Mexico and Canada over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) laws for beef and pork products. Responding to complaints filed by Canada and Mexico, WTO’s Dispute Settlement Panel ruled in…
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White House Urged to Appeal WTO Ruling on COOL Regulations
Several consumer organizations have called on President Barack Obama (D) to appeal a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that favored Canada and Mexico in a dispute over U.S. country-of-origin-labeling (COOL) requirements for beef and pork products. In their February 24, 2012, letter, Consumers Union, Food & Water Watch, Public Citizen, and the Consumer Federation of…
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United States to Appeal WTO Ruling on Dolphin-Safe Labeling of Tuna
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced that the United States will file an appeal in a dispute with Mexico before the World Trade Organization (WTO) over U.S. labeling provisions that allow producers meeting dolphin-safe requirements to label their products accordingly. One of the U.S. conditions challenged by Mexico provides that this label…
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WTO Rebuffs U.S. COOL Regulations
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has issued a ruling against the United States in a dispute with Mexico and Canada over country-of-origin labeling (COOL) regulations for beef and pork products. According to the November 18, 2011, panel report, Canada and Mexico filed complaints arguing that U.S. COOL regulations enacted in 2008 afford “imported livestock…
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WTO Nixes “Dolphin-Safe” Labels on U.S. Tuna
Concluding that “dolphin-safe” tuna product labels authorized by the U.S. Commerce Department “are more trade-restrictive than necessary to achieve a legitimate objective,” a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has given a partial victory to Mexico, which filed a complaint in 2009 claiming that the labels were illegal because they excluded Mexican yellowfin tuna from the U.S.…
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Poultry-Import and COOL Disputes on WTO Calendar
The United States has reportedly decided not to file an appeal from a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that its ban on Chinese poultry imports, imposed in 2004 upon fears of an avian flu outbreak, was illegal. According to a news source, this ends the trade dispute. While the legislative ban expired within five years,…
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WTO Rules Against U.S. Ban on Chinese Poultry
A World Trade Organization (WTO) panel has determined that the United States has violated its trade obligations by refusing to allow Chinese chicken parts into the U.S. market, an action that was apparently taken in a 2009 federal spending bill that denied the use of any U.S. Department of Agriculture funding to establish or implement…