WTO finds Mexico’s sweetner import tax discriminatory

WTO finds Mexico’s sweetner import tax discriminatory    A World Trade Organization panel ruled that Mexico’s tax on beverages that contain imported sweetners, such as high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and beet sugar, is discriminatory.
   Mexico imposed the 20-percent beverage tax on Jan. 1, 2002. The tax resulted in an immediate drop in U.S. exports of HFCS to Mexico. In 2004, U.S. exports of HFCS to Mexico remained at less than 6 percent of their pre-tax levels.
   At the request of the United States, the WTO set up the panel July 6, 2004. The panel sided with the United States on all major issues in the dispute. On Sept. 7, the panel concluded that Mexico beverage tax is contrary to WTO rules.
   U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman called the WTO panel’s decision a victory for American manufacturers of HFCS and beet sugar.
   “Mexico needs to eliminate this tax as soon as possible, and in doing so, I urge Mexico not to merely substitute one barrier to HFCS for another,” Portman said.