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Congress Stands up for Dolphins, Pushes Back on WTO

Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, joined 42 colleagues in sending a strong letter to President Obama urging him to push back on the recent WTO ruling against dolphin-safe tuna labels.

In a press release, Markey said “The American people deserve to know whether or not the fish they eat was caught by killing Flipper... Dolphin-safe labeling of canned tuna has been successful in protecting the species and giving consumers informed choices.”

The letters calls the WTO decision "misguided," and says that "the U.S. intends to maintain the strong dolphin-safe standards, and not to water them down." The letter goes on:

The implication of the recent WTO ruling ... is that the U.S. should expend significant regulatory resources around the globe in an untargeted fashion, or alternatively, that imports from Mexico could utilize the dolphin-safe labels without having to meet the same requirements as tuna caught by U.S. or other nations' fleets. Neither result is acceptable, and 'complying' in either way simply invites further WTO litigation from other nations, not to mention serious disruption of the canned tuna market in the US and loss of consumer confidence in environmental laws and labels.

The letter included some notable signatories, including:

  • Ranking Members: Berman (Foreign Affairs), Frank (Financial Services), Markey (Natural Resources), and Miller (Ed and Labor)
  • Ways & Means Committee Members: Blumenauer, Doggett, Pascrell, Stark, and Van Hollen.
  • Oceans Subcommittee of Natural Resources Committee: Faleomavaega, Pallone, Bordallo and Pierluisi.
  • Voted for the Uruguay Round Implementation Act (implementing the WTO): Berman, Corrine Brown, Maloney, Markey, Moran, and Waters. Reps. Meeks and Towns - along with Moran, members of the so-called CAFTA 15 for their vote for that trade deal - also signed the letter.

See press release here, and letter here (PDF). See our further discussion of this ruling here.

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