Switzerland Seeks WTO Ruling On US Steel Tariffs

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

26 June 2002

It emerged earlier this week that Switzerland has joined forces with Norway and China to request the appointment of a panel of independent experts to assess the legality of US import tariffs on steel products.

Speaking to the Swissinfo news service, the Swiss Deputy Permanent Representative to the WTO, Didier Chambovey revealed that:

'It's the first time that Switzerland is requesting the establishment of a WTO panel to make a decision on the consistency of the measure taken by one of its major trade partners.' He added: 'We believe that the US is acting in breach of the WTO agreement and that its measures are having a negative impact on the export of Swiss steel, which is worth SFr30 million per year'.

Delegates from the three countries agreed on Monday that they will join the panel already established by the European Union, Japan and South Korea, and there is a possibility that New Zealand and Japan - still at a relatively early stage in the proceedings - could also join at some point in the future.

Although WTO panels normally take around nine months to rule on disputes, it has been suggested that the panel established to examine the US steel tariffs could take up to 15 months to present its case to the US.

In the meantime, according to Mr Chambovey, Switzerland will bide its time, although the possibility of retaliatory sanctions has been mentioned.

'Of course, it will take time for the panel to reach a verdict and in the short term, Swiss exporters will just have to live with the American measures,' he told Swissinfo.

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