Disputes Roundup: New Compliance Panel Established in US-Mexico Tuna Case

A compliance panel has now been established to review whether the US’ latest changes to its “dolphin-safe” tuna labelling regulations are in line with global trade rules, following a second request by Washington. The panel was established during a “special” meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on Monday 9 May, and will address the revisions that the US announced in March. This will mark the second time that a compliance panel has reviewed changes to the US policy, which is the subject of a long-running dispute brought by Mexico. Meanwhile, the Philippines has also requested consultations with Thailand to review the latter’s implementation of DSB recommendations and rulings in July 2011 in a case involving Thai customs and fiscal measures on imported cigarettes from the Philippines. Compliance panel established in tuna case The compliance panel established in the tuna case ( DS381 ) on Monday is the latest step in a long-running saga that dates back eight years. The new panel is set to review whether various steps Washington has recently taken to revise its documentation requirements regarding these “dolphin-safe” labels are enough to address both current and previous concerns over violations of WTO rules. Mexico rejected an...