WASHINGTON - (Business Wire) The Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC) urged the Obama Administration to end the use of “zeroing” in antidumping cases in the wake of the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) panel report finding that the U.S. Commerce Department's use of the controversial methodology violates international trade obligations. The April 24 ruling – the 20th WTO ruling to go against the U.S. – clears the way for Japan to initiate retaliation against U.S. exports later this year if the U.S. continues to defy the WTO rulings.

Japan challenged the United States' failure to implement an earlier WTO decision against the U.S. use of zeroing that Japan had won in January 2007. Under the WTO decision, the U.S. had until December 24, 2007 to comply with the ruling.

“In this latest case, the WTO panel ruled that the U.S. failed to implement earlier decisions against the use of zeroing in assessing antidumping duties,” said CITAC Counsel Lewis Leibowitz, a partner at the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, LLP. “The EU won a similar case in December 2008, but the Japan ruling is significantly broader, because it found that U.S. assessment of duties through Customs liquidation after the implementation date is a failure to comply with the WTO ruling; by contrast, the EU ruling found that only Commerce determinations after the implementation date are violations. The Appellate Body in the WTO will make a decision on this issue next month.”

“The bottom line is that the Japan Panel ruling has expanded the number of transactions that can form the basis for retaliation, and expanded the likely effect on U.S. exports if the United States fails to abide by the WTO rules. Soon Mexico will have this authority as well, as the period for U.S. compliance with the Mexico decision expires on April 30.”

“When the U.S. fails to comply with these rulings, U.S. consuming industries (downstream manufacturers, distributors and retailers) and U.S. exporters will bear the brunt of the consequences – from artificially inflated antidumping duties as well as retaliation against U.S. exports,” said Leibowitz. “Three of our largest export markets will be subject to retaliation within a few months, and others are likely to follow.”

Zeroing artificially inflates dumping margins by disregarding “negative” dumping comparisons (where the U.S. sales price exceeds the foreign “normal value”) when calculating an aggregate margin of dumping for a product. In effect, the negative comparisons are treated as though export price and normal value were the same. The resulting antidumping duties tax American consumers excessively by inflating not only the duties but domestic market prices.

“There is a strong likelihood of increased trade case activity during the current downturn. If these cases impose antidumping duties, the use of zeroing will further harm U.S. manufacturers and consumers and make economic recovery that much more difficult,” concluded Leibowitz. “The cost of maintaining zeroing simply cannot be justified.”

For additional information, visit www.citac.info.

Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC)
George Felcyn, 202-828-1715
George.Felcyn@bgllp.com

Posted : Tue, 28 Apr 2009 18:14:44 GMT
Author : Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition (CITAC)

Source: www.earthtimes.org