US 'failed to comply' with anti-dumping

22/12/2008 12:00 - 684 Views

The World Trade Organization said on Wednesday that the United States had failed to comply with all its obligations following a complaint by the European Union about its anti-dumping mechanisms.

The dispute focused on Washington's contentious use of a method called "zeroing" for calculating anti-dumping margins, which the EU argued increased the anti-dumping tariffs imposed on products.

Dumping is when a manufacturer in one country exports a product to another country at a price which is either below the price it charges in its home market or is below its costs of production.

The ruling could pave the way for retaliatory measures by Brussels, but EU Commission spokesman Peter Power said only that the WTO ruling "supports the main points" of the EU's argument.

The WTO's compliance panel said that the US had failed to comply with previous recommendations regarding disputes on hot rolled steel, ball bearings and stainless steel.

"To the extent that the United States has otherwise failed to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB (Dispute Settlement Body) in the original dispute, these recommendations and rulings of the DSB remain operative," the compliance panel said in a report.

December 18, 2008 - 7:50AM

Source: news.theage.com.au