US—Measures Concerning the Importation, Marketing, and Sale of Tuna and Tuna Products

The United States government (defendant) enacted the Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act (DPCIA), which established standards necessary for tuna products sold in the country to be labeled “dolphin-safe.” Tuna products derived from fishing methods that allegedly posed a high risk to dolphins were not eligible for the dolphin-safe label. Mexico (plaintiff) employed tuna-fishing practices in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean that were specifically excluded from dolphin-safe labeling in the United States. However, the United States did not fully address the potential for adverse effects on dolphins posed by other tuna-fishing methods in other bodies of water, which were not subject to the same treatment under DPCIA—for example, a requirement of certification from the vessel captain that no dolphins had been harmed. Mexico brought a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO), alleging that the measures unfairly discriminated against imported Mexican tuna products because the dolphin-safe labeling had higher commercial value. Mexico argued that such treatment was a violation of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Agreement) governing trade relationships among WTO members. The WTO dispute-resolution panel concluded that the DPCIA and associated regulations did not accord less-favorable treatment to Mexican tuna products. Mexico appealed this aspect of the decision to the WTO Appellate Body.