Joint WTO dispute settlement consultations call for immediate termination of US protectionist action on steel
The EC, Japan, Korea, China, Switzerland and Norway issued the following joint statement on 13 April:
The WTO joint dispute settlement consultations on the US steel safeguards under the Dispute Settlement Understanding on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 April in Geneva, between the EC, Japan, Korea, China, Switzerland and Norway on one side and the US on the other side delivered a very clear signal of the strong concern about the US protectionist measures among all the players on the global steel market.
In these joint consultations, the EC, Japan, Korea, China, Switzerland and Norway have conveyed to the US the common view that the protectionist measures of the US violate the WTO requirements on safeguards. They also voiced their shared concern about the US systematic abuse of safeguards instruments, despite the condemnation by the Appellate Body of the six US safeguards brought to WTO.
They finally called upon the US to terminate the WTO incompatible safeguards without delay. If these consultations fail to solve the dispute within 60 days from the request, they intend to proceed to request a WTO panel. As the first complainant, the EC will therefore be in position to request a WTO panel as early as 6 May 2002.