SEE ALSO:
press releases
WTO news
Mike Moore's speeches
Renato Ruggiero's speeches,
1995-99
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I have the
honour to request the establishment of a panel pursuant to Articles 4 and 6 of the
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, Article XXIII
of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) and Article 30 of the Agreement
on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) with respect to the imposition of
countervailing duties on certain hot-rolled lead and bismuth carbon steel (leaded bars)
originating in the United Kingdom and three successive administrative reviews.On 12 June 1998 the
European Communities (EC) requested consultations with the United States with a view to
reaching a mutually satisfactory solution of the matter. The request was circulated in
document WT/DS138/1 - G/SCM/D26/1 dated 6 July 1998. These consultations, which were held
on 29 July 1998 in Geneva, have allowed a better understanding of the respective positions
but have not led to a satisfactory resolution of the matter.
The factual
background to the complaint is set out in the request for consultations referred to above.
The United States refuses to take account of the privatisation or change of ownership of
the body receiving a subsidy, even if at a full market price, and to consider whether the
subsidy still provides a benefit when assessing or reassessing the countervailable
subsidy. Instead the United States considers that the subsidy "travels with" the
assets when they are transferred. The United States allocates the amount of the subsidy to
the new owners of the assets according to a methodology which has no rational basis and
has never been explained or justified in the determinations.
The EC
request that a dispute settlement panel be established to consider and find that these
measures are in breach of the United States' obligations under the provisions of the ASCM,
in particular, but not necessarily exclusively, of Article 1.1(b), Article 10, Article 14
and Article 19.4 of the said Agreement.
The EC
request that the panel be established with the standard terms of reference. |
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