SKorea appeals WTO ruling on steel tariffs

27/01/2021 12:00 - 185 Views

The government of South Korea has appealed a World Trade Organization ruling that Seoul's anti-dumping duties on Japanese-made stainless steel bars broke international trade rules.

The move was in response to the decision made in November of last year by a WTO panel, which also asked Seoul to take "corrective measures."

Seoul has been charging additional tariffs of about 15 percent on the steel bars since 2004, saying prices are unfairly low. The product is mainly used in automobiles and machine tools.

A ruling on the appeal is unlikely to come anytime soon, now that the WTO's appellate court is not functioning due to a lack of judges.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that the anti-dumping measures will likely remain in place until a final WTO ruling is delivered.

The Japanese government said the panel's analysis was objective and appropriate. It added South Korea's appeal to the appellate court, which is currently not functioning, is extremely regrettable as it leaves the dispute unresolved.

It also said it strongly hopes that South Korea will abide by its obligations under the WTO agreement and abolish the tariff.

Source: NHK World