Mark Thornton | Food Chemical News | Volume 43, Number 13
The United States must lift tariffs on Australian and New Zealand lamb imports, a World Trade Organization appellate body has ruled, upholding a 1999 decision by the WTO's dispute settlement body.
The United States had appealed that decision, which found the country had broken WTO rules by erecting temporary safeguard duties against imports of fresh and frozen lamb from Australia and New Zealand.
The U.S. had failed to "demonstrate the required causal link between increased imports and threat of serious injury" to the American lamb industry, the WTO's appellate body ruled May 2.
Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile called the ruling a comprehensive victory for Australia and New Zealand. WTO investigators had failed to establish any factors that the U.S. had claimed were responsible for domestic economic difficulties, he said. "What has to happen now is this decision gets reported (in the U.S.) on May 16. My understanding is that at the same time the U.S. has to inform the WTO on what measures they're going to take to remove the quota and tariff," Vaile said.
"What this means to Australian lamb producers is the restriction has been 35,000 tons per annum going in. Any product over and above that has been carrying a 40% tariff. That's not a cost to Australian consumers or producers. American consumers are paying that, and they've been paying it because last year we had a record year selling about US$100 million worth of Australian product into that market. They've been prepared to buy it because it's a quality product."
Vaile said had it not been for the tariffs imposed by the Clinton administration, the market could have been $30 million larger. But he said Australia and New Zealand would be unlikely to seek compensation for the 18 months of tariffs.
However, if the U.S. fails to remove them by May 16, ANZ would seek compensation or some other form of retaliatory measures, he said.
Australia's non-government politicians hailed the WTO decision as a slap in the face for the United States, but said the ANZ governments should pressure the U.S. to lift its restrictions immediately.
"It is now up to the Australian government to pressure their American counterparts into complying with the decision of the WTO that the illegal barriers must be removed," Labor Party agriculture spokesman Gavan O'Connor said.
"I congratulate Australia lamb producers and their representatives on the Sheepmeats Council of Australia and the National Farmers Federation for their professionalism and persistence in pursuing this case," O'Connor said. "The way they have doggedly gone about having this unfair U.S. policy overturned is a good example of what can be achieved by presenting a well-prepared case to the World Trade Organization in a professional manner."
A failure by the United States to lift the restrictions immediately would raise questions about its willingness to use what were intended as emergency provisions in WTO rules for protectionist purposes, O'Connor said. It also would raise doubts about the readiness of the U.S. to engage seriously on agricultural trade issues in the bilateral relationship, O'Connor said.
Copyright c 2001, CRC Press LLCMark Thornton:
