An informal trade panel met to judge the matter, and the preface was the result; and Beilby's name did not appear on the title page.

But the international trade panel said the new law still violated international trade rules on two basic points.

A strong start for the trade panel.

The decision comes after many lawmakers voiced concern that some international trade panels had ruled that Nafta's provisions superseded various state laws and regulations.

Why should international trade panels be exempt from the same scrutiny?

The trade panel might have reluctantly exonerated Japan because it could not realistically reach back three decades to pinpoint the cause of today's closed markets.

The lesson from the demonstrators this week is that future trade panels must not just talk about protecting the environment but actually do so.

Last month, the Mexican government decided to move forward with a long-dormant complaint about the dispute to a trade panel.

A trade panel correctly supported a challenge by Venezuela and Brazil to American rules that discriminated against foreign oil imports.

In a 294-page ruling, the trade panel agreed.