CATTLE, DOLPHINS, AND THE WTO: The Potential Impact of the World Trade Organization Agreements on United States Food Regulation

Abstract

This paper focuses specifically on the relationship between World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and American regulation of food products and additives. Section I provides background information on how the United States regulates domestic and imported food products. Section II explains the nature of the WTO agreements and the WTO dispute settlement process; discusses the WTO dispute between the EU, Canada, and the US over administration of growth hormones to increase beef production (Meat Hormones); reveals parallel domestic issues in the US regarding scientific uncertainty and the effect of federalism on state sovereignty; and considers the relationship between food regulation and environmental ethics in the context of three WTO panel reports (Tuna I, Tuna 11, and Shrimp). Finally, Section III considers the domestic policy implications of the WTO agreements as interpreted by the WTO dispute settlement body and applied in the context of food; and makes recommendations as to how concerned parties should continue to act, at both the national and international levels, to address the difficult issues raised in the Meat Hormones, Tuna, and Shrimp disputes.