E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

EU Seeks Trade Sanctions Against U.S.
The European Union, risking fresh tensions with Washington, on Thursday asked for the go ahead to slap trade sanctions on the United States just as efforts get under way to revive global commerce talks.
Oh, that should help.
The EU was set to be joined in its request, lodged with the Geneva-based WTO, later on Thursday by nine nations including Japan, China, Brazil, India and South Korea. The sanctions, which could run to hundreds of millions of dollars of duties on U.S. goods, aim to force Washington to revoke a scheme under which local companies benefit when anti-dumping duties are imposed on foreign competitors. The World Trade Organization (WTO) has repeatedly ruled the measure, known as the "Byrd amendment," illegal.
According to most world organizations the USA is illegal
"The Byrd amendment has raised widespread concerns from the outset as evidenced by the large number of complainants in this case," European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said. "I hope the U.S. will now take action to remove this measure, thus avoiding the risk of sanctions," he added in a statement.

The fight has come to a head days after the top U.S. trade official called for efforts to revive talks to liberalize global trade, which flopped last year. Officials on both sides of the Atlantic have dismissed suggestions the battles over trade rules could weaken their resolve to win a deal at the WTO on lowering barriers to business, which the World Bank says would give a powerful boost to the struggling international economy. Nevertheless, the Byrd amendment enjoys strong support in the U.S. Congress and the threat of sanctions could spark a backlash among U.S. politicians as they prepare for a presidential election in November.

The retaliation request will be heard by the WTO’s disputes settlement body at a special session called for January 26, but EU and other officials have stressed that having the go-ahead does not mean the sanctions will be immediately enforced. Brussels has been sitting on WTO authorization to hit Washington with $4.0 billion in duties, a record, since last May in another row over tax breaks. It has warned retaliation could start in the spring unless the U.S. system is dismantled. The United States was expected to oppose the new sanctions call. As a result, the case was likely to go to arbitration, which could delay any decision on the sanctions for 60 days. The EU and its allies have not put a precise figure for what they are seeking, although they have said it should be in line with sums handed out by the U.S. administration to local firms.
These EU types are becoming tiresome....
Since the amendment was passed in 2000, U.S. ball bearing, steel, seafood, pasta, candle and other firms have got some $710 million from anti-dumping duties on "unfairly traded" imports. The Bush administration, which has repeatedly said that it aims to blow off honor WTO rulings, is expected to recommend eliminating the amendment as part of its annual budget plan due out by early February. But there is no guarantee that Congress will approve. But two of the original complainants, Thailand and Australia, were apparently willing to give Washington the benefit of the doubt, agreeing to hold off on any sanctions request until the end of the year.
Posted by: JerseyMike 2004-01-15
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=24408