(Sandler and Travis)
Canada and the
European Union (EU) are moving ahead with efforts to eliminate the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA, or Byrd Amendment). The WTO has ruled against the law and the Bush Administration has
called for its repeal, but there is substantial support for it in Congress. The EU, Canada, and six other countries have secured WTO authorization to impose retaliatory measures, which at least one senior
U.S. lawmaker has said may be the only way to prompt Congress to take up the issue.
Inside US Trade
reported on February 25 that Canada, in addition to considering higher import duties on U.S. goods, is also planning to file a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade (CIT). It is pursuing this route because the court, unlike a NAFTA panel, could order the U.S. government not to distribute the billions of dollars in antidumping (AD) duties collected to date on imports of Canadian softwood lumber to U.S. timber companies.
According to the article, the case will argue that application of the Byrd Amendment to Canadian goods violates U.S. commitments under NAFTA because (a) the Byrd Amendment does not specifically state
that it applies to such goods, (b) the U.S. did not consult with Canada prior to enacting the law, and (c) the Byrd Amendment violates WTO rules.
A separate Inside US Trade
article noted that the EU could release a specific list of U.S. goods to be hit with higher import duties as early as next month. Under a WTO arbitration ruling, only about $18 million worth of U.S. exports would be affected. In addition, the article said, any duty increase is expected to fall well short of the 100 per cent maximum, and the monthly escalation used in the export tax dispute is not likely to be repeated. Final approval of the retaliation list could come by summer.
|
