EC – Seal Products: Seals and Sensibilities (TBT Aspects of the Panel and Appellate Body Reports)

The EC-Seals case stemmed from complaints by Canada and Norway against European Union regulations that effectively banned the importation and marketing of seal products from those countries. The EU said it had responded to European moral outrage at the killing of seals. Canada and Norway challenged the regime under various provisions of the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement and the GATT. This analysis looks primarily at the WTO panel decision and considers issues such as whether there is any bright line to be drawn between legitimate and illegitimate purposes in regulation and the proper legal meaning of a “technical regulation.”