WTO appeals court backs South Korea in US trade dispute (Channel News Asia, 7 September 2016)
South Korea largely won an appeal ruling at the World Trade Organization in a challenge that puts U.S. anti-subsidy duties on Korean-made washing machines in jeopardy. The ruling by the WTO Appellate Body, which is final, strengthened South Korea’s win by reversing part of the earlier ruling that had gone in Washington’s favour, concerning the calculation of anti-subsidy duties. The ruling does not immediately strike down the U.S. duties imposed in 2013 after Washington found that South Korea was unfairly subsidizing and pricing Korean-made washers exported to the United States.
The U.S. Commerce Department had imposed anti-subsidy duties of up to 82 percent on washers made by Samsung Electronics Co , LG Electronics Inc and Daewoo Electronics Co after a complaint brought by Michigan-based Whirlpool Corp. South Korea complained to the WTO about the methodology used to calculate the duties. The panel ruling in March rejected part of South Korea’s complaint, including objections to the U.S. Commerce Department’s findings that tax credit subsidies were not tied to specific products. The WTO Appellate Body upbraided the panel for making several wrong decisions about the U.S. methodologies, and said Washington, not Seoul, was in the wrong.