12-09-98 : WTO rules in favor of Korean computer chip makers
The World Trade Organization (WTO) handed down a ruling in favor of Korea in a trade dispute with the United States over Korean-made DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips. Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry sources said yesterday that the WTO dispute settlement panel ruled a clause in the U.S. antidumping regulation violates WTO rules.
The regulation at stake was provision 353 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations which makes it possible to maintain dumping charges in case of "possible future" dumpings.
In a key condition to lift dumping duties, the regulation reads, "it is not likely that those persons will in the future sell the merchandise at less than foreign market value."
Based on the regulation, the U.S. Department of Commerce has refused to lift U.S. dumping duties on DRAM chips exported by Korean companies, LG Semicon and Hyundai Electronics. Washington has been imposing 9 percent and 4 percent dumping duties on LG- and Hyundai-made DRAM chips, respectively, since in September last year. In its previous reviews, Washington concluded that both Korean DRAM exporters recorded the minimal dumping margins of less than 0.5 percent during the 1995-1998 period.
If dumping margins stay at less than 2 percent, the WTO regulations regard them as "de minimis," which means no anti- dumping charges should be imposed for unfair trade.
In a countermeasure against the U.S. "unfair" dumping charges on Korean-made chips, the Korean government filed a complaint with the WTO last year. In response, the WTO set up a dispute settlement panel in January this year. If Washington does not appeal the WTO ruling by January, it is required to revise the problematic regulation within the next 15 months, ministry officials said.
They forecast that the WTO ruling will help improve the nation's trade environment in the U.S. market, where Washingtion is poised to slap antidumping duties on steel imports from Korea. |
