*EPF207 08/31/2004
Text: U.S. to Continue Anti-Dumping Duties Despite WTO Ruling
(Committed to ensuring level playing field, trade office says) (430)

The United States will continue to impose duties on countries that dump their goods on the U.S. market despite a World Trade Organization (WTO) decision authorizing eight trading partners to impose sanctions against what is called the Byrd amendment to U.S. antidumping law, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR).

An August 31 USTR statement responded to the WTO ruling earlier that day authorizing the trading partners to take retaliatory action based on claims of significant economic damage from the Byrd amendment.

Earlier in 2004, the WTO ruled that the Byrd amendment violated WTO obligations. The WTO also set the level of sanctions allowed. WTO arbitrators ruled that the trading partners' claims of damage were "exaggerated," the USTR statement said.

The WTO case was brought by the European Union, Canada, Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and South Korea, according to press reports.

The Byrd amendment, passed in 2000, directs the U.S. government to distribute anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties directly to U.S. companies harmed by dumping and subsidies. Before the Byrd amendment became law, such revenue went to the U.S. Treasury.

The United States also will continue to work to resolve the dispute within the WTO, the statement said.

Following is the text of the USTR statement:

(begin text)

United States Trade Representative

August 31, 2004

Statement of USTR Spokesman Christopher Padilla on World Trade
Organization (WTO) Arbitrators' Determination on the "Byrd Amendment"

The United States is committed to trade policies that ensure a level playing field for American workers and farmers. 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 U.S. market. The Byrd Amendment simply deals with how the funds collected from such duties are disbursed by the Treasury. The United States will comply with its WTO obligations, and the Administration will work closely with Congress to do so in a way that supports American jobs and American workers.

Some foreign countries claimed that U.S. 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. While the arbitrators' determinations fell far short of the amount requested by the complaining parties, the United States remains committed to resolving this issue in a way that promotes the competitiveness of American workers.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

Return to Public File Main Page

Return to Public Table of Contents