SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] January 27, 2014 โ Mexico has petitioned the World Trade Organization to reopen an issue with dolphin-safe tuna labeling requirements for its exports to the US market.
According to the WTO Mexico said that the US modification to its dolphin-safe labelling requirements had not complied with the Decision Settlement Body's (DSB) recommendations in this dispute.
For the second time, Mexico has requested the DSB to establish a panel pursuant to Article 21.5 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).
The US said that its final rule published on 9 July 2013 had brought it into full compliance with the DSBโs recommendations and rulings but was prepared to defend the amended dolphin-safe labelling requirements.
The DSB established a compliance panel to examine this dispute and agreed to refer to the original panel, if possible, the matter raised by Mexico.
Canada, China, the European Union, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, Norway and Thailand reserved their third-party rights to participate in the panelโs proceedings.
This story originally appeared on Seafood.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.