WTO delays ruling on call for sanctions against US

June 2, 2004

2 June 2004

WTO delays ruling on call for sanctions against U.S.

The following article is excerpted from the 2 June 2004 online edition of the Journal of Commerce.

The World Trade Organization on Tuesday put off ruling on a call by the European Union and other countries for it to levy potentially hefty sanctions against the United States over a practice the WTO says amounts to state aid.

The WTO's decision in the "Byrd Amendment'" case had been due Wednesday, but EU officials told Reuters they had been told the verdict would be delayed. They could not say how long it would be delayed.

The EU, Canada, Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and South Korea sought the right to retaliate against U.S. exports because the U.S. Congress has failed to repeal the trade measure, which the WTO declared illegal more than a year ago.

The request for sanctions -- potentially involving hundreds of millions of dollars -- was opposed by the United States. A WTO arbitration panel was set up to decide what punitive duties, if any, the plaintiffs were entitled to receive.

WTO officials did not comment on the reason for the delay.

The United States missed a December 27 deadline to repeal the law, named after Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who helped enact it, or face possible retaliation.
Under the measure, funds raised from anti-dumping duties on imports the United States considers unfair are distributed to U.S. companies. The WTO says the practice amounts to state aid.

Over the past three years, the law has enabled the U.S. government to pay $710 million to U.S. ball bearing, steel, candle, pasta, seafood and other companies.

The EU and its allies did not put a figure on the sanctions sought. But they said the amount should be similar to the sums that Washington handed out to U.S. firms.


Topic(s): 
International Initiatives
Information Source: 
World Customs Organization (WCO) / World Trade Organization (WTO)
Document Type: 
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