Admittedly, a number of panel and AB decisions use language that is
difficult to square with this suggested generous interpretation of US- Shirts and Blouses.128 In fact in EC-Hormones,after first equating a prima facie case with the claimant's initial burden as described in US-Shirts and Blouses, the AB goes on to say the following: "It is also well to remember that a primafacie case is one which, in the absence of effective refutation by the defending party, requiresa panel, as a matter of law, to rule in favour of the complaining party presenting the prima facie case."' 29 It seems impossible to square this language-if taken at face value-with the sug- gested generous interpretation above. In EC- Hormones, a prima facie case seems to be a decisive case, one that is overwhelming and that will yield a claimant victory as a matter of law unless "effectively refuted."' 30 Surely, however, a claimant is not required in every case to present overwhelming proof instead of merely a plausible case as part of its initial production burden. So what then does prima facie case mean in the prior formula- tion? If the AB uses it to mean a case that invokes a legal presumption (prov- ing Fact A causes Fact B to be taken as presumptively established), then what exactly is the required proxy proof (what is Fact A)? Moreover, why does the presumption device operate in every WTO proceeding, not just in special cases where social policy reasons call for it? Finally, what burden, exactly, is shifted?