Research Paper Easy-What are the requirements for valid protective measures under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement?
Guador, a small country in South America, is a member of the WTO. American fruit producers recently succeeded in persuading several members of Congress to introduce a bill to remedy Guador’s alleged unfair trade practices in the citrus fruit industry. The bill provides for a unilateral threefold increase in the tariff solely applicable to citrus fruits originating in Guador. Furthermore, the bill imposes periodic testing procedures upon Guadorian citrus fruits from which American producers are exempt.
Finally, the bill caps imports of Guadorian citrus fruits into the United States at $20 million in value annually. If enacted, would all of the bill’s provisions violate American obligations pursuant to the GATT? Why or why not?
What are the requirements for valid protective measures under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement? As seen in Meat case on page 279, what is a nation’s best evidence that it is SPS compliant and the protection measure is reasonable?
