Sometimes government leads, sometimes corporations or groups of corporations lead. One advantage of a voluntary code, as noted by both Sweeney and Linda Golodner of the National Consumers League, based in Washington, D.C., is that corporations can sometimes exceed the basic standards outlined by the Code of Conduct. But Golodner also cautions that ultimately laws are necessary. You have to have the laws, you have to have the regulations. There are companies that are the bad apples that will not be socially responsible.
Nothing can supersede having a law and regulation.
Ironically, coalitions may be the way that change will be effected in the future if WTO decisions follow the trend of placing trade above other considerations. The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibited the import of tuna caught using methods that kill large numbers of dolphins. While opposition to this legislation seems contrary to common sense, Mexico brought a case against the United States in 1991 for GATT arbitration. Mexico argued that the U.S.'s prohibition of Mexican tuna was a violation of GATT rules. In September 1991, a GATT panel issued a decision stating that while the U.S. could apply regulations on the quality and content of imported tuna, it could not impose sanctions based on the method of tuna production.