Shrimp turtle case
Okay, so imagine you're at the aquarium looking at all the cool fish and sea creatures. You see some little shrimp swimming around and they're really cute, right?
Well, some people in other countries catch those shrimp and sell them to other people in other countries, including the United States. But here's the problem - sometimes, the way they catch those shrimp is very bad for other sea creatures.
One kind of sea creature that gets hurt a lot is called a sea turtle. These turtles swim around in the ocean, just like the shrimp, and they can get caught in the nets that the fishermen use to catch the shrimp. Lots of turtles can get hurt or even die this way.
So, the United States government decided they didn't want to allow shrimp to be imported from countries that didn't have rules to protect sea turtles. They made a law saying that if other countries want to sell shrimp to the US, they have to use special nets to catch the shrimp that won't hurt the turtles.
This made some countries upset because it was more expensive to use those special nets. Another group of people, who sell shrimp in the US, also got upset because they didn't want to pay more for the shrimp they were selling.
This disagreement between the US and the other countries went all the way to a big group of people called the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO had to decide whether the US was allowed to make this law or if it wasn't fair to the other countries who wanted to sell shrimp.
After a lot of talking and arguing, the WTO decided that the US could keep their law because it was important to protect the sea turtles. So, shrimp can still be imported to the US, but only if they follow the rules to protect the sea turtles.
Well, some people in other countries catch those shrimp and sell them to other people in other countries, including the United States. But here's the problem - sometimes, the way they catch those shrimp is very bad for other sea creatures.
One kind of sea creature that gets hurt a lot is called a sea turtle. These turtles swim around in the ocean, just like the shrimp, and they can get caught in the nets that the fishermen use to catch the shrimp. Lots of turtles can get hurt or even die this way.
So, the United States government decided they didn't want to allow shrimp to be imported from countries that didn't have rules to protect sea turtles. They made a law saying that if other countries want to sell shrimp to the US, they have to use special nets to catch the shrimp that won't hurt the turtles.
This made some countries upset because it was more expensive to use those special nets. Another group of people, who sell shrimp in the US, also got upset because they didn't want to pay more for the shrimp they were selling.
This disagreement between the US and the other countries went all the way to a big group of people called the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO had to decide whether the US was allowed to make this law or if it wasn't fair to the other countries who wanted to sell shrimp.
After a lot of talking and arguing, the WTO decided that the US could keep their law because it was important to protect the sea turtles. So, shrimp can still be imported to the US, but only if they follow the rules to protect the sea turtles.