. . . is the topic of my latest Trade Tripper column in this Friday-Saturday issue of BusinessWorld. Excerpts:
"Last April 27, 2009, a WTO panel was established for dispute DS381, now referred to as the new 'Tuna-Dolphin' case. The complaint was filed by Mexico, alleging that US dolphin-safe labeling measures are inconsistent with the latter’s WTO obligations. Expectedly, the US defended its measures, saying that such measures are important to the protection of the dolphin population in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean.
The reason why the present case is raising such excitement among WTO practitioners, aside from the fact that they need to get a life, has to do with the original Tuna-Dolphin (and its doppelganger, Shrimp-Turtles") case. Ostensibly a mere trade dispute, the same nevertheless raised profound issues on the nature of sovereignty and state power."
