Nations Press U.S. to End Duty Law
The European Union, Japan and six other countries Thursday asked for authorization to retaliate against a U.S. law that has handed $800 million in customs duties to American firms.
The dispute sparked the largest number of complaints ever in a World Trade Organization case. The six other nations -- Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Brazil, Chile and India -- also will ask the WTO for the right to raise tariffs on some U.S. imports, the EU said.
The action is intended to pressure U.S. lawmakers to overturn the law, which since 2001 has given customs duties to companies that complained about foreign rivals’ imports. All other import duties go to the U.S. Treasury.
The U.S. missed a deadline to comply with the WTO’s ruling a year ago that held that the measure violated the group’s rules.
The U.S. said it would object to any retaliation at the WTO.
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