Japan to end punitive tariffs against US

12/08/2014 12:00 - 490 Views

Japan has decided not to extend punitive tariffs imposed on some products imported from the United States in retaliation for a U.S. anti-dumping trade law known as the Byrd amendment.

The current retaliatory tariffs are to expire on Aug. 31. Additional 17.4 percent tariffs are levied on 13 items, including some types of bearings and stainless steel bars.

Japan first imposed retaliatory tariffs on 15 items, including steel products, on Sept. 1, 2005, over the Byrd amendment. The European Union, Canada and Mexico implemented similar countermeasures against the U.S.

Japan has extended retaliatory tariffs every year since September 2006, although the number of items subject to the punitive tariffs has changed every year.

The controversial Byrd amendment, enacted in 2000, is legislation allowing anti-dumping duties collected by the U.S. administration from foreign companies to be distributed among U.S. firms to cover their losses from cheap imports.

In January 2003, the World Trade Organization, the Geneva-based watchdog on international commerce, ruled that the Byrd amendment was in violation of international rules and ordered the U.S. to repeal it, which it did in February 2006.

But according to the Japanese government, the law “contains transitional provisions under which all duties on entries of goods filed before Oct. 1, 2007, shall be subject to the distribution under the Byrd amendment.”

In September 2013, the Japanese government extended the punitive tariffs for another year on the grounds that the U.S. continued to illegally distribute anti-dumping duties.

The Japanese Finance Ministry said on Tuesday, however, that the punitive tariffs are no longer necessary as the amount of Japan-related anti-dumping duties distributed among U.S. firms declined to only $2,800 in the last U.S. fiscal year, which ended in September 2013.

Source: joc.com