404
Opinion of the Court
stance. They also claim that even if this question is one of arbitrability, and is therefore properly within the purview of the courts at this time, the remedial limitations at issue do not require invalidation of their arbitration agreements. Either way, petitioners contend, the lower courts should have compelled arbitration. We conclude that it would be premature for us to address these questions at this time.
Our decision in Vimar Seguros y Reaseguros, S. A. v. M/V Sky Reefer, 515 U. S. 528 (1995), supplies the analytic framework for assessing the ripeness of this dispute. In Vimar, we dealt with a bill of lading concerning a shipment of goods from Morocco to Massachusetts. Upon receipt of the goods, the purchaser discovered that they had been damaged, and, along with its insurer (Vimar), filed suit against the shipper. The shipper sought to compel arbitration, relying on choice-of-law and arbitration clauses in the bill of lading under which disputes arising out of the parties' agreement were to be governed by Japanese law and resolved through arbitration before the Tokyo Maritime Arbitration Commission. Vimar countered by arguing that the arbitration clause violated the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act (COGSA), 46 U. S. C. App. § 1300 et seq., and hence was unenforceable. 515 U. S., at 531-532. In particular, Vimar claimed that "there is no guarantee foreign arbitrators will apply COGSA"; that the foreign arbitrator was likely to apply rules of Japanese law under which respondents' liability might be less than what it would be under COGSA; and that this would violate "[t]he central guarantee of [COGSA] § 3(8) . . . that the terms of a bill of lading may not relieve the carrier of obligations or diminish the legal duties specified by the Act." Id., at 539.
Notwithstanding Vimar's insistence that the arbitration agreement violated federal policy as embodied in COGSA, we declined to reach the issue and held that the arbitration clause was, at least initially, enforceable. "At this interlocu-tory stage," we explained, "it is not established what law the arbitrators will apply to petitioner's claims or that petitioner
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