Japan, EU to call for WTO panel to abolish US anti-dumping law
( 2001-07-11 14:13 ) (7 )

Japan said Wednesday it would join forces with Europe and other World Trade Organisation (WTO) members to set up a WTO dispute settlement panel against new US antidumping legislation.

"We have decided that together with the European Union, we will call on the WTO to set up a panel in which we will seek the abolition" of the US legislation, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a statement.

"We will submit our request to the WTO on July 24," a METI official said.

"Besides EU nations, we expect some other WTO members will join us," the official added.

Japan and the EU strongly oppose the US legislation, known as the Byrd Amendment, designed to give antidumping duties collected by the US Customs Service to private companies that filed antidumping petitions.

Other WTO members joining the Japan-EU initiative are likely to include Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, South Korea and Thailand, Kyodo News agency said.

Japan and the EU held talks with the United States in February, arguing that the legislation, passed through the US Congress in October, violates WTO rules.

But the two sides failed to reach an agreement regarding the issue.

"We cannot expect the United States to voluntarily abolish the clause, even if we continue negotiations," the ministry said.

On June 26, the US government published specific rules related to the law in an official bulletin and began soliciting public comments, designating July 26 as the deadline for submissions, Kyodo said.