Without immediate and effective protection from the threat posed by shrimp trawling, sea turtles may not survive on our planet. Section 609 is a response to that threat and, according to a US court, requires the United States to condition access to the US shrimp market on the adoption by trawling nations of a nationwide program to protect sea turtles from death in shrimp nets. As noted above, this national certification requirement is a faithful application of the principles of sustainable development and protection of endangered species that are a foundation of the WTO Agreements, including the provisions of the GATT. The differential treatment of shrimp depending on the conditions in the country in which they are caught is a necessary corollary to the right of nations to promote sustainable development and protect endangered species.
For these reasons, this Panel should affirm the GATT consistency of the national certification requirement and be careful not to suggest that only a shipment-by-shipment shrimp importation policy could comply with Article XX. To do otherwise would render illusory the rights of WTO Members under Article XX(g) and might well doom sea turtles to extinction.