Trade Minister, Mark Vaile, has welcomed the decision by the US to approve imports of prawns from the Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. "I welcome this breakthrough for our Spencer Gulf exporters which has been made possible by changes to US import regulations introduced in response to a World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute case", Mr Vaile said. "The US decision is the latest example of WTO trade rules working in Australia's favour. Australia was one of a number of countries opposed to a US prohibition on prawn imports from any country that did not require the use of a turtle-excluder device (TED) in its trawlers. It was the unjustifiable character of the US prohibition, highlighted in particular by the absence of turtles in the Spencer Gulf fishery, that saw Australia press its rights under the WTO dispute settlement system". "We support the need for appropriate conservation measures. But these should be pursued through cooperative initiatives rather than by resort to restrictive trade measures by individual countries", Mr Vaile said. Mr Vaile acknowledged the efforts of the South Australian authorities and Spencer Gulf producer, Australian Bight Seafood, in working to achieve the decision. "While I welcome the US decision on Spencer Gulf, I remain concerned that other Australian fisheries remain unable to export prawns to the US. We are continuing to use all opportunities to address this situation." Mr Vaile said the Northern Prawn Fishery (NPF) is in the process of introducing the mandatory use of turtle-excluder devices. "We have made clear to the US our expectation that the NPF should be able to export prawns to the US market once the turtle-excluders are in place next year."
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