ABSTRACT
The Shrimp/Turtle dispute has changed the face of the issue of process and production methods (PPMs) and trade. Shrimp/Turtle was also the irrefutable proof that the multilateral trading system has to, and is beginning to, come to terms with the issues surrounding processing and production methods. To take one example, the Appellate Body in the Shrimp/Turtle case found that the United States gave more technical assistance to some countries than to others, and that amounted to unfair discrimination. It is important to be careful in assessing the implications of this interpretation: presumably, if the United States had given no technical assistance to anyone, it would not have failed on that hurdle. That is a lot of hurdles to get over before a trade measure can be held compatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules. Some of the hurdles look like reasonable ones, others may be construed as less reasonable.
