17 July 2008

WTO shrimp rulings upheld

This article is excerpted from the 16 July 2008 edition of “The Journal of Commerce”. Members may wish to refer to a previous Journal of Commerce article on this subject at: http://www.cscb.ca/050/rs_prev_e.cfm?ID=11668.

The Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization on Wednesday upheld most of the WTO’s previous rulings in two cases brought by India and Thailand regarding imports of shrimp by the United States.

The court reiterated also that the measure used by the Washington to limit imports of unfairly priced imported shrimp was inconsistent with WTO rules. The court said the U.S. should amend its rules.

India and Thailand had argued that the U.S. violated WTO rules by asking those two countries to post bonds to cover the full amount of the anti-dumping duties imposed on imports of shrimp. Beginning in 2004, U.S. Customs required non-U.S. exporters who were subject to paying anti-dumping duties to post a bond covering the entire amount of those duties as security in case there was a risk of default.

The central legal issue was whether this practice was a reasonable one or whether it imposed an unfair burden on foreign shrimp suppliers beyond the anti-dumping duties that they had already been required to pay. India and Thailand successfully argued these requirements imposed an excessive burden….