CANADIAN and US government officials have disputed in emails to American Shipper the circumstances leading to the circulation of a World Trade Organisation panel report that concluded the United States violated several WTO countervailing duty rules in levying duties on supercalendered paper from Canada
CANADIAN and US government officials have disputed in emails to American Shipper the circumstances leading to the circulation of a World Trade Organisation panel report that concluded the United States violated several WTO countervailing duty rules in levying duties on supercalendered paper from Canada. The US Commerce Department terminated those duties on July 5.
An Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) official said that Canada had prior knowledge that those duties would be lifted, based on 'ongoing dialogue' with the United States as well as on statutory deadlines.
'Nevertheless, they chose for the WTO dispute settlement process to proceed and the panel report was circulated,' the official said.
The WTO's panel report found that the US violated several provisions of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures in its application of the duties on imports of supercalendered paper, or newsprint, from Canada.
However, a Canadian government official in an email disputed the USTR official's characterisation. 'Canada had no prior knowledge that duties would be lifted on July 5 and as such we continued our litigation until that date,' the official said.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer took issue with Canada's pursuit of the case until the ultimate release of the panel report.
'Canada appears to be more interested in attacking our anti-subsidy laws than in resolving this particular dispute,' Mr Lighthizer said. 'By pursuing this litigation, Canada is helping non-market countries like China that are more likely to use the type of hidden subsidies at issue in this case.'
