WTO WANTS BYRD AMENDMENT PAYOUT SYSTEM GROUNDED

WTO WANTS BYRD AMENDMENT PAYOUT SYSTEM GROUNDED    The World Trade Organization appeals body upheld its decision Jan. 16 that the U.S. government’s system of giving American manufacturers fines collected from antidumping and countervailing duty disputes is illegal.
   The 2000 Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act, or so-called “Byrd Amendment” because it was Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who proposed it, was passed by Congress as an add-on to an agriculture appropriations bill.
   On Sept. 10, 2001, a WTO dispute settlement panel was created at the request of Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Thailand to examine the consistency of the Byrd Amendment with U.S. WTO obligations under the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement and the WTO Subsidies Agreement. The panel found against the United States on three of the five principal claims asserted by the complaining parties.
   The United States appealed the WTO panel’s findings to the WTO Appellate Body on Oct. 18, 2002. Under WTO rules, the WTO Settlement Body will adopt its recommendations and rulings in the dispute within 30 days.
   The U.S. government said it would seek agreement with the 11 complaining countries on the reasonable period of time for the United States to comply with the WTO Settlement Body recommendations and rulings.
   “We are still reviewing (the WTO) report, but we note that since the dispute did not involve the underlying U.S. anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws, the United States will continue to vigorously enforce those laws to ensure that U.S. industries, farmers, and workers are not forced to compete with unfairly traded imports,” said U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick.
   The report will also be reviewed by the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees.
   When the Byrd Amendment was enacted, the U.S. import industry warned that it could have serious impact on the country’s foreign trade relations. The American Association of Exporters and Importers, in particular, said at the time the “provision of monetary rewards to petitioners in a AD/CVD case will lead to the proliferation of trade litigation and will undercut a key restraint on frivolous action.”
   The U.S. government has collected millions of dollars in fines from foreign firms since the Byrd Amendment took effect, and has distributed about $560 million to injured U.S. producers. The largest industry recipients are involved in steel and metals production.