US Rule Changes Tuna Labeling Regulations After Mexico Seeks WTO Tariff Retaliation
Faced with the threat of Mexican retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods in connection with a World Trade Organization ruling on dolphin-safe tuna labeling requirements, the National Marine Fisheries Service is issuing regulations (here) apparently aimed at resolving the issue. Mexico on March 13 told the WTO it will seek $472.3 million in retaliatory tariffs, after a WTO appellate body found the U.S. labeling regime discriminates against Tuna fished in Mexican waters (see 12051633 and 1511230010). However, NMFS says a new interim final rule "brings the United States into compliance with its obligations as a Member of the World Trade Organization." Comments on the interim final rule are due April 22.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The NMFS rule would “enhance” the requirements for documentation that details the accuracy of dolphin-safe labels on tuna products, the NMFS said. Among other things, the rule applies observer notification requirements "equally to purse seine and other gear-type tuna fisheries." The rule also restructures NOAA regulations to allow one “straightforward certification” pertaining to intentional deployment and mortality/serious injury for all fisheries that produce tuna that could be eligible for the “dolphin-safe” label, among other things. The Embassy of Mexico did not immediately comment.
According to the document sent by Mexico to the WTO (here), Mexico plans to implement against the U.S. a suspension of tariff concessions and “other related obligations” by assessing additional tariffs on a list of U.S. products “to be established by Mexico in due course." A USTR spokesman said the amount Mexico is officially seeking is “substantially inflated.” The spokesman said that later this month, the U.S. intends to object to Mexico’s request to the WTO for concession suspension, in which case the matter would proceed to arbitration.