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TWN
Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Sept23/12) Geneva, 20 Sep (D. Ravi Kanth) — For the 68th time or close to the sixth year in a row, the United States on 19 September blocked a request from 130 members of the World Trade Organization for commencing the selection process to fill the vacancies on the Appellate Body, sticking to its much-repeated position that its long-standing concerns regarding the Appellate Body remain unaddressed, said people familiar with the meeting. At a meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 19 September, the US came under intense pressure not only on its seemingly untenable positions in blocking the filling of the vacancies on the Appellate Body but also on some old and new trade disputes. The existing trade disputes revolved around the failure of the US to implement the rulings in: “United States – Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Japan”, “United States – Section 110(5) of US Copyright Act”, “United States – Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea”, and “United States – Certain Methodologies and their Application to Anti-Dumping Proceedings Involving China.” The new trade dispute against the US involves Argentina’s first-time request at the DSB for the establishment of a dispute panel to examine the allegedly WTO-illegal anti-dumping measures imposed by the US on imports of oil country tubular goods from Argentina. The US blocked Argentina’s first-time request for panel establishment, but will not be able to prevent the establishment of the panel if Argentina persists with a second request at the next DSB meeting on 26 October. Apparently, right at the beginning of the meeting, it was announced that China is appealing a recent panel ruling issued in favour of the US in “China – Additional Duties on Certain Products from the United States” (DS558). Consequently, the item on this issue was removed from the DSB’s agenda. Aside from the above dispute, China apparently signalled its intention to implement the rulings of a dispute panel in a case initiated by Japan regarding anti-dumping duties imposed by China on stainless steel products from Japan. However, China sought a reasonable period of time to implement the ruling, while Japan said that it regrets that the two sides have not yet been able to agree on an implementation deadline. India, which apparently lost a trade dispute concerning its imposition of tariffs on imports of certain high-tech goods from the European Union and Chinese Taipei, got approval from the DSB on a request made by the three parties to delay the adoption of the panel reports until 18 December, in order to help facilitate the resolution of the disputes. On another trade dispute concerning anti-dumping measures imposed by the Dominican Republic on corrugated steel bars from Costa Rica, the DSB chair, Ambassador Petter Olberg of Norway, announced at the beginning of the meeting that the Dominican Republic has appealed the panel ruling against its measures. OTHER BUSINESS Meanwhile, under the agenda item of “Other Business”, referring to the panel ruling that was appealed by China concerning additional duties imposed by Beijing on certain US products, the US said that China’s decision to pursue its own dispute against the US Section 232 steel and aluminum tariffs highlights its hypocrisy by both suing the US in the WTO and at the same time unilaterally retaliating with tariffs. The US argued that the panel rightly rejected China’s argument that the US Section 232 actions are safeguard measures that may be “re-balanced” under the WTO rules. The US said that China’s use of the WTO dispute settlement system to challenge the US Section 232 national security actions has caused grave systemic damage to the WTO and that WTO reform must ensure that issues of national security cannot be reviewed in WTO dispute settlement. In a sharp response, China said, “There are errors in legal interpretations in the panel’s findings,” and that, “the issues underlying the measures in this case have not yet been resolved.” China said, “The root of China’s re-balancing measures lies in the US Section 232 tariffs on certain steel and aluminum products.” More importantly, “the US should change its course and return to multilateralism as soon as possible,” China emphasized, adding that “due to the obstruction by the United States, the Appellate Body is currently unable to hear the case, and China’s appeal request will therefore be shelved.” The EU and the Russian Federation took the floor to voice their disagreement with the panel’s findings. +
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