UNITED STATES - IMPORT PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN SHRIMP
AND
SHRIMP PRODUCTS
Request
for the Establishment of a Panel by Pakistan
The following
communication, dated 30 January 1997, from the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to
the Dispute Settlement Body, is circulated at the request of that delegation.
_______________
I am writing to say that
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 obligations under GATT 1994; (1)
Article XI:1 clearly states 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)
Article XIII:1 which states that all allowable prohibitions or restrictions on
imports must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner.
In an effort to resolve
these matters and pursuant to Article 4 of the Understanding on Rules and
Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (“DSU”) and Article XXII:1 of
the GATT, on October 8, 1996, the Governments of India, Malaysia, Pakistan and
Thailand requested consultations with the United States (see document
WT/DS58/1). Subsequently, consultations
were held on 19 November 1996, in Geneva, and thereafter letters were
exchanged regarding points requiring further clarification. However, the participants failed to reach an
understanding during the consultations.