WTO deals blow to US duties on European steel
The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced yesterday that the US had run afoul of global trade rules by continuing to maintain countervailing duties on carbon steel flat products imported from privatized European steel companies. Upon the ruling, the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body called on Washington to rectify the issue. WTO experts found that US duties on carbon steel flat products from British Steel, now Anglo-Dutch Corus, and Spain's Aceralia are not in line with WTO trade rules. The experts did find, however, that duties on the same products from France's Usinor are not in violation of WTO rules. Washington imposed countervailing duties on the subject products on the ground that US industry was suffering from unfair European competition. The main thrust of Washington's argument was that the European producers in question had received state aid before being privatized between 1987 and 1998. The EU had previously challenged the US in the WTO over the subject duties. That challenge ended with the WTO warning the US to comply with global trade rules. The US officials agreed to implement the necessary changes; however, the WTO found that the changes implemented still violated WTO rules.