WTO Ruling: No Penalties For Steel 'Dumping' Imports

The U.S. has lost a trade battle following a successful challenge by the 15-nation European Union (EU) of 84-year-old American anti-dumping laws which, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO), violate global trading rules. The WTO ruling comes as the EU and Japan contest U.S. efforts to protect American steel products from foreign imports on the grounds that they are being sold at below their market value. WTO concluded that the U.S. Anti-Dumping Act, which dates back to 1916, contains provisions that clash with the trade organization's own accords. The EU protested the U.S. law that allows American courts to impose penalties, including triple damages and criminal sanctions. Japan has filed a similar complaint. Both the Europeans and Japanese were reacting to a petition for relief filed by Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. in 1998 that accused nine foreign companies of dumping hot-rolled steel in the Ohio market.