Implementation moves ahead on WTO seal ban dispute

The EU, Canada, and Norway have signalled that they have agreed to a timeframe for the 28-nation bloc to bring its ban on imported seal products in line with international trade rules. In separate letters addressed to the Chairperson of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) – the committee that deals with alleged infractions to global trade law – Canada and Norway both said that the EU would have until 18 October 2015 to act on the recommendations of the global trade arbiter. The interval will mark a period of 16 months from the WTO’s adoption of the DSB’s recommendations and rulings on the case. Exactly how the EU will amend its legislation, however, is not yet known at this stage. A tough case With its emotive content and passionate advocates on both sides of the debate, the seal ban dispute is among the more high-profile and polarising cases addressed by the WTO in recent years. The case also saw WTO judges confronted with the tricky issue of how to reconcile expressed ethical preferences with international trade rules. The measure in question is a 2009 European Commission regulation and implementing legislation, together known as the EU Seal Regime, which banned...