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EU poised to seek more trade sanctions against US

* EU takes WTO action against US, Canada over beef sanctions

GENEVA: The European Union is likely to ask the World Trade Organisation (WTO) soon for the go ahead for $40-50 million in sanctions on US goods in a long-running anti-dumping row, diplomats said on Monday.

In another sign of transatlantic trade tension, Brussels was expected to put the request at the next meeting of the WTO’s disputes settlement body (DSB) on November 24.

“It is not 100 percent sure, but it is very likely,” said one diplomat in Geneva with knowledge of the case.

The European Union, which is backed in its complaint by seven other WTO members, including Japan, has already won the right to retaliate over the controversial US measure, the so-called Byrd amendment.

But before the punitive duties are actually applied to goods ranging from ball bearings to candles, pasta and seafood, the EU must go back to the WTO a final time.

Authorisation is guaranteed, however, as the request could only be blocked by the unanimous decision of all members, including those bringing the complaint.

Diplomats said that Japan, which has initial permission to impose $80 million in duties in the same case, could join the EU in seeking the green light to act.

The other countries involved - Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Mexico and South Korea - were still deciding, diplomats added, although some thought India and South Korea would join Brussels.

The situation would be clear by Wednesday, which is the deadline for getting items on to the meeting’s agenda.

In a ruling in late August, a panel of WTO arbitrators upheld the case of Brussels and its allies that their exporters were being harmed by the amendment, under which US anti-dumping duties are shared out amongst local companies.

The arbitrators set a complex formula for determining the level of damages the eight could levy. The amount for the first year amounted to some $150 million, with Japan and the EU getting the largest share.

The US government has repeatedly asked Congress to repeal the measure, named after veteran Democratic Party Senator Robert Byrd, but the amendment has strong backing in the legislature.

Trade relations between the EU and the United States are already under strain from a number of disputes, ranging from allegations of illegal state aid to their plane makers to EU restrictions on genetically modified foods.

Earlier on Monday, the EU announced that it was asking the WTO to tell the United States and Canada to drop sanctions they imposed over the 25-nation bloc’s ban on hormone-treated beef.

The EU’s executive commission said the sanctions were illegal since the bloc had already refined the ban to comply with a negative WTO ruling.

“The EU ban on certain growth-promoting hormones is now in full respect of our international obligations,” EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said.

“There is no reason why European companies should continue to be targeted by sanctions when they export to Canada and the United States,” he said in a statement. reuters/afp

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