US appeals anti-dumping case against South Korea to WTO

The United States appealed a case on anti-dumping and countervailing duties on steel products and transformers against South Korea in the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Appeal is from the Panel Report on US Duties on Korean Products

On March 19, the United States notified the Dispute Settlement Body of its decision to appeal the report of the Panel that heard in the dispute «United States-Anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain products and the use of the facts of the case. knowledge ”(DS539), raised by South Korea.

The panel report was circulated to WTO Members on January 21.

As there is no agreement among WTO Members to fill Appellate Body vacancies, there is currently no Appellate Body Section that can examine this appeal.

Anti-dumping

This dispute concerns a number of «as applied» claims and an «as such» claim made by South Korea, asserting a breach of the United States’ obligations under the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.

Under the «as applied» claims, South Korea challenges specific instances of the USDOC’s use of facts available in four anti-dumping and two countervailing duty investigations. of the obligations of the United States under the covered agreements.

In each of the six investigations at issue, Korea alleges both that the conditions were not met for the USDOC to resort to the facts available and that the USDOC’s subsequent selection of the proxy facts for the missing information violated the disciplines. applicable legal.

In addition to the «as applied» challenges, South Korea also makes an «as such» claim against an alleged unwritten action regarding the USDOC’s use of «adverse facts available».

Korea’s «as such» challenge does not challenge the USDOC’s recourse to facts available, but focuses exclusively on the «selection [by USDOC] of facts available in a situation where there is made a finding of non-cooperation «.