Examples of the Panel in a sentence
On 15 December 2023, the Panel granted six requests in their entirety, limited the scope of five requests, and denied three requests pursuant to Article 20.2 of the RoP.
While Mexico correctly notes that that question was addressed by the Panel in MEX-277, Panel Reports, EC-Biotech, ¶¶ 7.3030 and 7.3034 (see MEX Responses to Panel Questions, ¶ 54), that temporal issue does not arise in this case.
In Mexico, the Biosafety Law of Genetically Modified Organisms introduced in 2005 (the “2005 Biosafety Law”) and the Regulations to the Genetically Modified Organisms Biosafety Law introduced in 2008 (the “2008 Biosafety Regulations”), regulate the importation and trade of GM products.15 14 The Panel notes that when they exist, the Panel relies on the English translations of exhibits provided by the Parties or the Mexican Section of the Secretariat.
Second, the Panel is equally unable to accept Mexico’s alternative argument that, even if the Articles 7/8 Measure is an SPS measure, it is a “provisional measure” within the meaning of Articles 9.6.4(c) and 9.6.5 of the USMCA.
As a threshold matter, the Panel notes Mexico’s position that the 2023 Decree refers to a number of different objectives underlying the various measures it adopts, and that some of these objectives involve SPS concerns (i.e., protecting human and plant life and health), while others do not (e.g., biocultural wealth and peasant communities).