The US acted legally when it left in place duties on imports of Japanese steel products, the WTO ruled Thursday.
Japan complained after Wash-ington decided in November 2000 that it needed to maintain a special duty of 36.41 percent on imports of corrosion-resistant carbon steel flat products from Japan. It believed they were being "dumped" at below market price, which was affecting domestic steel producers.
Japan claimed the US had no reason to start a "sunset review" to decide whether to maintain the duties at the end of the original period of application, claiming US policies that require such reviews as a matter of course are against WTO rules.
It also claimed that the criteria used by the US Department of Commerce in the investigation were incorrect.
However, in a 375-page report, the WTO panel investigating the dispute rejected all 10 of Japan's claims.
"The panel concluded that the US action was consistent with US WTO obligations, rejecting all of Japan's challenges," said Richard Mills, spokesman for the office of the US Trade Representative.
Japan has 30 days to appeal.
Meanwhile, Nippon Steel Corp and JFE Holdings Inc said they don't expect sales to be hurt by the WTO's ruling.
The US accounted for 3 percent of Nippon Steel's exports in the year ended March 31, spokesman Takashi Kanke said. It accounted for 6 percent of exports last year by JFE's steel unit, said JFE spokesman Shuichiro Hayashi. Rising Asian demand will also reduce the impact of the decision, the companies said.
The WTO ruling gave the US its first victory in using tariffs to block foreign companies from dumping their goods at a discounted price.
Japan exported 32.65 million tonnes of steel in the year ended March. The US accounted for 1.18 million tonnes of the total, the Japan Iron and Steel Federation said.
The impact of the decision is "negligible," Kanke said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS