U.S. requests WTO consultations with Canada over corn import duties

U.S. requests WTO consultations with Canada over corn import duties    The Bush administration has asked for World Trade Organization consultations with Canada over its provisional antidumping and countervailing duties on U.S. grain corn.
   Canada imposed provisional duties on imports of U.S. grain corn in mid-December in the amount of $1.65 per bushel.
   The Canadian International Trade Tribunal will hold a hearing on the injury matter in Ottawa from March 20 to March 25, and is scheduled to announce its final injury finding on April 18. If no injury is found, the provisional duties will be lifted and importers will receive full refunds. If it makes a positive injury finding, final combined duties of 44 percent will be imposed.
   According to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, imports of U.S. grain corn into Canada have fallen 42 percent in the last two years. In the marketing year that ended in August 2005, the United States exported about $210 million of grain corn to Canada. The primary uses of grain corn are in animal feed, ethanol production and distilled spirits.
   The consultation period will last 60 days, starting March 17. The United States hopes to reach a settlement before the consultation period expires, USTR said.