Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 6 • Number 28 • 24th July 2002
Canada To Bring Us To WTO On Additional Lumber Duties
WTO DESIGNATE D-G SUPPORTS DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, MORE OPENNESS
Designate WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, due to replace Mike Moore in September 2002, pledged on 8 July at a conference in Bangkok, Thailand to increase participation from developing countries in ongoing trade negotiations. Among the ideas he floated was the possibility of establishing representative offices of the WTO in developing regions, particularly in Africa. He also argued that the WTO needed to boost its credibility, accountability and openness to ideas from other stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, the private sector and parliamentarians. Supachai pointed out that while Members’ efforts to extend the WTO’s role into new areas such as trade in services, geographical indications and the Agreement on Trade- related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights were welcomed, other issues that are critical to developing countries, such as agricultural products and textiles, had been left unresolved from the previous rounds. He cautioned that this endangered alienating much of the developing world. Given the difficulties facing the negotiations in the new trade round, Dr. Supachai said he was cautiously optimistic that the three-year time frame for the Doha round would be adhered to.
"WTO Director General Designate Urges Moves to Ensure Developing Nations’ Representation," Jonathan Hopfner, International Trade Reporter, 18 July 2002.
On 18 July, Canada requested the WTO to establish a trade panel at the next 29 July meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on the ongoing Canada-US softwood lumber dispute. Canada is arguing that the final determination of countervailing duties (CVD) imposed last year by the US on Canadian softwood lumber imports (Lumber IV) are inconsistent with WTO rules. In its panel request (WT/DS257/2, searchable at http://docsonline.wto.org/gen_search.asp), Canada noted a number of points, including the initiation of the US CVD investigation, its final determination, and "the application of US law concerning expedited reviews and company-specific administrative reviews", which the complainant believes violate US obligations under WTO law. The US now has the option of blocking the first Canadian panel request at the forthcoming DSB meeting. A second request would automatically lead to the establishment of a dispute settlement panel. The series of softwood lumber disputes involves a US contention that Canada’s system of charging lower fees to lumber producers who harvest wood from government-owned land amounts to subsidies for the industry, while Canada accuses the US lumber industry of seeking unfair duties to compensate for its lack of competitiveness (see BRIDGES Weekly, 6 November 2001).
"Agriculture: Canada To Request WTO Panel Ruling Concerning Final Softwood Lumber Duties," WTO Reporter, 22 July 2002.
INTERIM DECISION ON ‘BYRD AMENDMENT’ FINDS US AT FAULT
On 18 July, a WTO panel circulated a confidential interim report to the parties in a case against a US antidumping law, in which the panel has found the contested US legislation to be in violation with the WTO’s antidumping provisions and other trade rules under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Complainants in the case challenged the US’ Continued Dumping and Offset Act of 2000 (or ‘Byrd amendment’). The US announced that it would appeal any final ruling that finds the Byrd amendment to be not in conformity with WTO rules. The interim report — issued to give parties to the dispute an opportunity to comment — is not yet final but is unlikely to be modified in substance before its definite version is formally released. The WTO is expected to issue its final ruling in September. The Byrd amendment requires US customs authorities to distribute duties obtained by a countervailing duty or anti-dumping measures to the injured producers — as opposed to the US government — for their "qualifying expenses" (see BRIDGES Weekly, 17 July 2001). The complainants in the dispute — the EU, Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Canada and Mexico — take the view that the Byrd amendment gives US industries "double protection" by compensating affected producers who are already protected by duties charged at the border.
"US Will Appeal WTO Ruling on Law," AP, 18 July 2002; "WTO Rules US Byrd Amendment Violates WTO Antidumping Rules," KYODO NEWS, 17 July 2002; "Canada Trade Min Welcomes WTO Decision Against US Act, DOW JONES, 17 July 2002; "Canada Very Pleased With WTO Finding On Byrd Amendment," DFAIT PRESS RELEASE, 17 July 2002.