*EPF507 04/28/00
U.S. Certifies Shrimp Imports From 41 Countries Under Turtle Law
(Challenges to law still possible from WTO, federal court) (730)
By Bruce Odessey
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States has certified for another year under its turtle protection law all potential major exporters of shrimp to the United States except Brazil, a State Department official says.

Challenges to the law from both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a U.S. federal court remain possible, however, the official, who asked not to be identified, said in an April 28 interview.

At issue is a provision passed by Congress in a 1989 spending law that bans imports of shrimp harvested from the wild in a way harmful to endangered sea turtles. It requires certification by May 1 every year of countries eligible to export shrimp to the U.S. market.

The State Department announced April 27 that 41 countries were eligible. Among them were 16 countries that operate programs requiring their shrimpers to use turtle excluder devices (TEDs), the same requirement imposed on U.S. shrimpers.

The 16 countries include most of the potential suppliers from the Western Hemisphere as well as Indonesia, Nigeria and Thailand.

Not included is Honduras. The State Department official says the Honduras government indicates willingness to improve enforcement of its TEDs regulation, which would allow U.S. re-certification soon.

Also not included is Brazil, which lacks a comprehensive national TEDs program. Under an exception in U.S. regulation, however, the department allows imports of shrimp from Brazil's northern coast, where Brazil's government uses a system to certify that individual shipments of shrimp were harvested using TEDs, the official said.

The department also certified nine countries whose shrimpers use fishing methods not harmful to turtles, including non-mechanized nets. And it certified 16 countries whose shrimpers harvest only in cold waters where the risk of harming turtles is negligible.

Meanwhile, another challenge to the U.S. law in the WTO remains possible. A WTO dispute-resolution body ruled in 1998 that, although the law was WTO-consistent, U.S. implementation of it was not.

In November the United States announced it was implementing the WTO decision in part by implementing the law in a more transparent, flexible and even-handed manner. It also said it would provide technical assistance to countries when asked and negotiate multilateral agreements on turtle protection with affected countries.

Of the four countries that brought the WTO case -- India, Malaysia, Pakistan and Thailand -- only Thailand has been certified for exports to the United States; it is the only major exporter of the group and the only one with a comprehensive TEDs program.

The State Department official said that Pakistan is improving its TEDs program, which should lead to U.S. certification. He said India is now considering whether to develop a TEDs program.

Malaysia is not considering a TEDs program but is considering a WTO challenge on U.S. compliance with the WTO ruling, he said. Malaysia's government has insisted that only repeal of the import ban, which it views as an extraterritorial application of U.S. law, would satisfy U.S. obligations in the WTO.

If Malaysia does challenge U.S. compliance, the official said, it has agreed to wait until late 2000, after the U.S. Congress has voted on whether to withdraw from WTO membership.

Meanwhile, he said, Malaysia is hosting in July, with U.S. financial support, the first session of multilateral negotiations for an agreement on protecting turtles in the Indian Ocean. The United States promotes such an agreement, in line with its implementation of the WTO ruling, and will participate in the negotiations.

The challenge to the U.S. law from federal court also remains pending. Earth Island Institute and other environmental groups filed suit challenging the State Department regulation shipment-by-shipment exception that allows imports from Brazil's north coast.

The groups argue that the exception discourages countries from adopting comprehensive TEDs programs and gives exporting countries more scope to mix shrimp not harvested legally with TEDs into their shipments.

According to the State Department official, the U.S. Court of International Trade judge has not issued a final ruling in the case. The judge has encouraged both sides to settle the case, but has not yet blocked the department from using the exception, he said.

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
NNNN