WTO delays in Byrd Amendment ruling

Reuters News Service

The World Trade Organization on Tuesday put off ruling on a request by the European Union and other countries for it to levy sanctions against the United States over a practice the WTO says amounts to state aid. Reuters reported Monday.

The WTO’s decision in the Byrd Amendment case had been due Wednesday, but EU officials said they have been told the verdict would be delayed. They could not say how long it would be delayed.

The EU, Canada, Japan, India, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and South Korea sought the right to retaliate against U.S. exports because the U.S. Congress has failed to repeal the trade measure, which the WTO declared illegal more than a year ago.

The request for sanctions – potentially involving hundreds of millions of dollars – was opposed by the United States. A WTO arbitration panel was set up to decide what punitive duties, if any, the plaintiffs were entitled to receive.

WTO officials declined to comment on the reason for the delay.

The United States missed a December 27 deadline to repeal the law, named after U.S. Senator Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat who helped enact it, or face possible retaliation.

Under the measure, funds raised from anti-dumping duties on imports the United States considers unfair are distributed to U.S. companies. The WTO says the practice amounts to state aid.

Over the past three years, the law has enabled the U.S. government to pay $710 million to U.S. ball bearing, steel, candle, pasta, seafood and other companies.

The EU and its allies did not put a figure on the sanctions sought. But they said the amount should be similar to the sums that Washington handed out to U.S. firms.