Digital Commons Network^™

Are Tuna And Dolphins The Same? A Rule Of Reason Approach To Resolve The Trade And Environment Conflict, Anantha K. Paruthipattu

LLM Theses and Essays

Trade and environment are both primary values in an ecologically and economically interdependent world; unleashing trade without regard to environmental impact is as detrimental as guarding the environment at the expense of trade and development. Tuna and dolphins have come to symbolize the policy struggle between trade and environment. In early 1990, the United States banned the import of tuna from Mexico and other countries that were fishing in a manner that damaged dolphins in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. Mexico challenged this ban before a GATT Panel, which ruled against the United States and held that the tuna ban …