Topics handled by WTO committees and agreements
Issues covered by the WTO’s committees and agreements

 ENVIRONMENT: DISPUTES 2
US versus Canada: fish export ban

A case brought by the US against Canada under GATT. The panel report was adopted in 1988.

Topics handled by WTO committees and agreements

Canada — Measures Affecting Exports of Unprocessed Herring and Salmon

Adopted on 22 March 1988. Adopted, pre-WTO, GATT panel reports can be downloaded here.

Under the 1976 Canadian Fisheries Act, Canada maintained regulations prohibiting the exportation or sale for export of certain unprocessed herring and salmon. The US complained that these measures were inconsistent with GATT Article XI. Canada argued that these export restrictions were part of a system of fishery resource management aimed at preserving fish stocks, and therefore were justified under Article XX(g).

The Panel found that the measures maintained by Canada were contrary to GATT Article XI:1 and were justified neither by Article XI:2(b) nor by Article XX(g).

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