UNITED STATES - IMPORT PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN SHRIMP

                                                     AND SHRIMP PRODUCTS

                         Request for the Establishment of a Panel by Malaysia and Thailand

        The following communication, dated 9 January 1997, from the Permanent Missions of Malaysia and Thailand to the Permanent Mission of the United States and to the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated at the request of these delegations.

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        Through a series of actions, including enactment of Section 609 of Public Law 101-162 amending the Endangered Species Act of 1973, 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq., promulgation of regulations and issuance of judicial decisions interpreting the law and regulations, the Government of the United States has implemented a partial embargo on the importation of certain shrimp and shrimp products which is inconsistent with its obligations under the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement) including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (“GATT”).  Specifically, the embargo is inconsistent with at least the following three GATT obligations:  (1) the proviso contained in Article XI:1 that no contracting party will impose prohibitions or restrictions on imports through quotas, licenses or other measures;  (2) the most-favoured-nation principle embodied in Article I:1;  and (3) the proviso contained in Article XIII:1 that all allowable prohibitions or restrictions on imports must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner.