Mexico just won a trade battle with the U.S., and it’s the first loss for the Trump administration. On Tuesday, the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled in Mexico’s favor, granting it the ability to impose trade sanctions worth $163 million a year against the U.S.
According the WTO the trade sanctions are equivalent to the amount of money Mexico has lost from the U.S. for unfairly penalizing Mexican tuna. “We are disappointed in the WTO Arbitrator’s decision regarding U.S. dolphin-safe labeling standards,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative, a wing of the executive branch, said in a statement.
The Trump Administration has characterized the WTO ruling as failing to take into account updated US laws on “dolphin safe” tuna, and overstated the financial losses of Mexican tuna producers, who intentionally chase and net dolphins.
Mexico first filed a case in 2008; this ruling by the WTO settles years of Mexican officials insisting the U.S. discriminated against their tuna, and that other countries did not face the same level of enforcement.
In the wake of the President’s talks to renegotiate NAFTA, the Trump administration has taken its first steps to crack down on trade with Canada, despite harsh criticism of Mexico on the campaign trail. Mexico’s ministry said that it would immediately take actions to reclaim the $163 million but has not yet announced their retaliatory course of action.
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