Tokyo to appeal WTO decision on US AD measures

The Japanese Trade Ministry has announced that the Japanese government is planning to appeal a WTO finding regarding US antidumping measures. Speaking on the issue, Trade Ministry official Mitsuru Nomura declared, “We will appeal to the WTO's appellate body on Wednesday, protesting against its report that “zeroing”, a US antidumping measure, is not against the WTO rules.” As reported by SteelOrbis in late September, the WTO panel sided largely with the US in the dispute regarding the US government's procedure for determining tariff rates on certain carbon steel products and ball bearings. The WTO rejected the arguments submitted by the Japanese government which claimed that the US had applied unfair antidumping duties on Japanese goods. Mr. Nomura stated that Japanese steel industry had been badly injured by “zeroing” over the past five years, particularly in exports of bearings.