The European Commission has put forward a proposal for implementing the WTO Seal Products decision. Here's the Commission's summary of the proposal:
With regard to the MRM exception, the contested discriminatory treatment can only be remedied by removing the MRM exception from the Basic Regulation as the WTO did not accept the raison d’être of the exception. According to the WTO ruling such hunts cannot be distinguished from commercial hunts, and banning only the latter is discriminatory. The proposal recognizes, however, the importance of such hunts for the purpose of sustainable management.
With regard to the IC exception, the concerns are addressed by certain modifications to the exception as they only relate to the specific design and application of the exception but not the legitimacy of an Inuit exception as such. In particular, the proposal links the use of the exception to the respect of animal welfare and provides for a mechanism that would help prevent its misuse, i.e. that prevent seal products derived from hunts that are primarily conducted for commercial purposes from entering the EU market under the Inuit exception.
So, no more MRM exception, and a modified IC exception.
Here's the proposed legal text explaining how the IC exception will now work:
Article 3
Conditions for placing on the market
1. The placing on the market of seal products shall be allowed only where the seal products result from hunts conducted by Inuit and other indigenous communities, provided that the following conditions are all satisfied:
(a) the hunt has been traditionally conducted by the community;
(b) the hunt contributes to the subsistence of the community and is not conducted primarily for commercial reasons;
(c) the hunt is conducted in a manner which reduces pain, distress, fear or other forms of suffering of the animals hunted to the extent possible taking into consideration the traditional way of life and the subsistence needs of the community.
The above conditions shall apply at the time or point of import for imported products.
How will everyone react to the change in policy? The Humane Society International seems happy with it:
"We are delighted that the European Commission has so robustly defended animal welfare and public morality. This proposal not only improves the European Union ban on commercial seal products, but sends a strong message to Canada and Norway that the EU will not accept products that result from cruelty to animals. The proposed amendments also clarify an exemption regarding traditional Inuit hunts, and remove a pointless exemption for products of marine mammal management hunts. It appears that the WTO challenge of the EU ban by Canada and Norway may have backfired; the proposed amendments tighten loopholes to make it impossible for products of commercial seal hunts to reach the EU market. We strongly urge Members of the European Parliament and Member States to respect the will of EU citizens and ensure that the Commission’s proposal is not watered down or weakened in any way."
I haven't seen a reaction from Canada or Norway yet.
