WTO Gives Go-Ahead For Sanctions Over US Anti-Dumping Law

by Ulrika Lomas, for LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels

02 September 2004

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Tuesday gave its approval for the EU and seven other WTO members to impose sanctions on the United States in response to its anti-dumping laws.

Under the Byrd amendment, introduced in 2000, overseas firms which sell their products at below cost price in the US can be fined by the government, with the money going to the US firm or firms which initially made the anti-dumping complaint.

The European Union, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea have argued for several years that such a regime permits illegal subsidies for the industries in question, and is therefore incompatible with WTO rules.

The Organisation itself came out in support of this view in 2002, ruling the Byrd amendment illegal, and giving the US government until December 2003 to repeal the measure.

Speaking to the European media this week, EU Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy welcomed the WTO announcement, observing that:

"It is clear that the Byrd Amendment is a WTO-incompatible response to dumping and subsidisation and must therefore go. I hope the US will now take action to remove this measure, thus avoiding the risk of sanctions."

However, the US response, as reported by the EU Observer news service, seems to suggest that this is unlikely. Speaking on behalf of the US Trade Representative's Office, Christopher Padilla announced on Tuesday that:

"Today's determination will not affect the ability of the United States to continue enforcing its trade laws to impose duties on countries that sell unfairly dumped or subsidized products in the US market."

He continued:

"Some foreign countries claimed that US trade laws like the Byrd Amendment cause them significant economic damage, but the panel of arbitrators at the WTO agreed with the United States that those claims were grossly exaggerated."

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