Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · United States · 1989–2001

US import ban on shrimp harvested without turtle protection: WTO dispute DS58 (US – Shrimp)

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 not measured · 1 disputed See the gaps

Section 609 of US Public Law 101-162 bars imports of shrimp harvested with technology that may harm sea turtles unless the exporting nation is certified. India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand challenged the ban at the WTO; the Appellate Body found in 1998 that it failed the Article XX chapeau as applied, and in 2001 that the revised measure was justified.

Revised US measure found justifiedWTO Appellate Body, Article 21.5 report of 22 October 2001
On condition of continued good-faith efforts toward a multilateral agreement; the report was adopted on 21 November 2001.

Status As of November 2001: the Appellate Body report finding the revised US measure justified was adopted on 21 November 2001; no later step is recorded in the sources reviewed.

What?
The United States barred imports of shrimp harvested with technology that may harm sea turtles unless the exporting nation was certified (Section 609 of Public Law 101-162). Four exporting countries challenged the ban at the WTO. World Trade Organization
Where?
United States as respondent; India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand as complainants; the dispute was heard in the WTO dispute settlement system. World Trade Organization
When?
Section 609 dated 21 November 1989; consultations requested 8 October 1996; panel 15 May 1998; Appellate Body 12 October 1998 (adopted 6 November 1998); revised guidelines 8 July 1999; compliance panel 15 June 2001; Appellate Body 22 October 2001 (adopted 21 November 2001). World Trade Organization
Who?
Gained
  • United States — Revised measure found justified by the Appellate Body in 2001, on condition of continued good-faith efforts toward a multilateral agreement World Trade Organization
Lost
  • India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand — Shrimp harvested with technology that may harm sea turtles barred from the US market unless the exporting nation was certified; the trade value affected is not on record World Trade Organization
Harmed
  • Sea turtles, including the loggerhead — The United States described shrimp trawl nets as a major human cause of sea turtle deaths; mortality tied to the ban is not on record World Trade Organization
Why?
The United States said shrimp trawl nets are a major human cause of sea turtle deaths; the complainants called the ban unilateral discrimination. World Trade Organization
How?
Section 609 bars shrimp imports harvested with technology that may harm sea turtles unless the exporting nation is certified; US trawlers had been required to use TEDs since 1987. World Trade Organization
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Section 609 of US Public Law 101-162, dated 21 November 1989, bars imports of shrimp harvested with technology that may harm sea turtles unless the exporting nation is certified. US trawlers had been required to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs) since 1987, with five sea turtle species, including the loggerhead, named.

India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand requested WTO consultations with the United States on 8 October 1996. The panel report of 15 May 1998 (WT/DS58/R) found the ban inconsistent with GATT Article XI:1. The Appellate Body report of 12 October 1998 (WT/DS58/AB/R) found the measure provisionally justified under Article XX(g) but failing the Article XX chapeau in how it was applied; the report was adopted on 6 November 1998.

The United States revised its guidelines on 8 July 1999. A compliance panel (15 June 2001) and the Appellate Body (22 October 2001) found the revised measure justified, on condition of continued good-faith efforts toward a multilateral agreement. The Appellate Body report was adopted on 21 November 2001. Sixteen third parties took part in the dispute.

The United States argued that shrimp trawl nets are a major human cause of sea turtle deaths; the complainants called the ban unilateral discrimination. The sources reviewed do not record loggerhead mortality tied to the ban or the trade value affected.

  1. 1987US trawlers required to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs); five sea turtle species, including the loggerhead, named
  2. 1989Section 609 of US Public Law 101-162 enacted (21 November)
  3. 1996India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand request WTO consultations (8 October)
  4. 1998Panel finds the ban inconsistent with GATT Article XI:1 (15 May); Appellate Body finds it provisionally justified under Article XX(g) but failing the chapeau (12 October); report adopted (6 November)
  5. 1999United States revises its guidelines (8 July)
  6. 2001Compliance panel (15 June) and Appellate Body (22 October) find the revised measure justified; report adopted (21 November)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Whether the US import ban on shrimp harvested without turtle protection was consistent with WTO rules
Government and regulators
United States

Argued that shrimp trawl nets are a major human cause of sea turtle deaths.

World Trade Organization
Government and regulators
India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand

Called the ban unilateral discrimination.

World Trade Organization
International bodies
WTO panel (15 May 1998)

Found the ban inconsistent with GATT Article XI:1.

World Trade Organization
International bodies
WTO Appellate Body (12 October 1998)

Found the measure provisionally justified under Article XX(g) but failing the Article XX chapeau in how it was applied.

World Trade Organization
International bodies
WTO compliance panel and Appellate Body (2001)

Found the revised measure justified, on condition of continued good-faith efforts toward a multilateral agreement.

World Trade Organization

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • The ban presented as a response to shrimp trawl nets, which the United States described as a major human cause of sea turtle deaths.
    United States · World Trade Organization
  • The ban described as unilateral discrimination.
    India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand · World Trade Organization

Recorded

  • Panel report (15 May 1998): the import ban is inconsistent with GATT Article XI:1.
    World Trade Organization
  • Appellate Body report (12 October 1998): the measure is provisionally justified under Article XX(g) but fails the Article XX chapeau in how it was applied; adopted 6 November 1998.
    World Trade Organization
  • Compliance panel (15 June 2001) and Appellate Body (22 October 2001): the revised measure is justified, on condition of continued good-faith efforts toward a multilateral agreement; adopted 21 November 2001.
    World Trade Organization

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: USD · Window: . All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 1996–1998Claimant won
    WTO dispute DS58, United States – import prohibition of shrimp and shrimp products (original proceeding)
    World Trade Organization (panel and Appellate Body) · International court · India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand → United States

    Consultations were requested on 8 October 1996. The panel (15 May 1998) found the ban inconsistent with GATT Article XI:1. The Appellate Body (12 October 1998) found it provisionally justified under Article XX(g) but failing the Article XX chapeau in how it was applied; the report was adopted on 6 November 1998. Sixteen third parties took part. World Trade Organization

  2. 2001Defendant won
    WTO dispute DS58, compliance proceeding after the US revised its guidelines (8 July 1999)
    World Trade Organization (compliance panel and Appellate Body, Article 21.5) · International court · Complainant in the compliance proceeding (not named in the sources reviewed) → United States

    The compliance panel (15 June 2001) and the Appellate Body (22 October 2001) found the revised measure justified, on condition of continued good-faith efforts toward a multilateral agreement; the report was adopted on 21 November 2001. World Trade Organization

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Court ruling exists

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

Accounts

  • Disputed Whether the US import ban on shrimp harvested without turtle protection was consistent with WTO rules

Record

Did the harm stop?

The sources reviewed record no measurement of sea turtle or loggerhead mortality tied to the import ban or to its revision.

Who paid?

No amounts are on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

International bodies

  2. Appellate Body report, WT/DS58/AB/R
    World Trade Organization ·

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Insurance

Premium
The price paid for an insurance policy.

Law and courts

Arbitration
A private dispute process in which an appointed arbitrator, instead of a court, decides the case.
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