A WTO Panel has rendered a split decision in a challenge by Canada and Norway to the EU ban on seal products. The Panel ruled that the ban violated the national treatment and MFN obligations of the EU under Article 2.1 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement) as well as under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The Panel rejected the argument that the ban was "more trade-restrictive than necessary" under TBT Article 2.2. The Reports of the WTO Panel in European Communities - Measures Prohibiting the Importation and Marketing of Seal Products (DS400, DS401) were released on 25 November 2013.
Global Trade and Customs Journal