Senators Defend Dolphin Protections Threatened by WTO Ruling

On Tuesday, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of 14 Senators in sending a letter to Rebecca Blank (Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce) and Ron Kirk (U.S. Trade Representative) expressing concern over last year's WTO tuna-dolphin ruling. The statement noted that while "cruel and lethal" tuna-fishing methods have killed over 6.5 million dolphins in the past six decades, the U.S. "Dolphin-Safe" tuna label has contributed to an amazing 98% decrease in such dolphin deaths since 1990.  As such, the Senators made clear that, despite the WTO's determination that "Dolphin-Safe" constitutes a trade violation, Congress intends to stand by current dolphin protection laws:

“We are deeply disappointed by the WTO’s final ruling, but we stand firmly committed to preserving the Dolphin-Safe label. Let us be clear--Congress has no intention of repealing or weakening the current law applying to this label.”

The Senators also sent a letter to Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana, the Ambassador of Mexico to the U.S., requesting that Mexico comply with the U.S.’s request to hear the case under NAFTA. The letter expresses the Senators’ disappointment that “Mexico has continued to stall consideration of this issue under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),” and urges Mexico to proceed with selection of NAFTA dispute resolution panelists so that the case can be resolved in a more timely manner.

These letters follow an impressive House letter, sent in May, urging the Obama administration to push back on the tuna-dolphin ruling.

For a more detailed analysis of the tuna-dolphin case, click here.  For the press release from Senator Boxer's office, click here.  

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