JAPAN-EC ANTIDUMPING DISPUTE FOR PANEL, TERMS YET TO BE SETTLED.

Nov 2, 1992

JAPAN-EC ANTIDUMPING DISPUTE FOR PANEL, TERMS YET TO BE SETTLED.

GENEVA, OCTOBER 30 (TWN) – Japan's complaint against the European Community over the levy of anti-dumping duties on imports of audio-cassette tapes from Japan has been referred to adjudication by the GATT’s Tokyo Round Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices, with terms of reference as well as composition of panel yet to be settled.

This was announced Friday to a brief meeting of the Committee by its Chairman, Armando Ortega of Mexico who however expressed his optimism that he soon expected a positive result from consultations with parties on this.

The European Community however reserved its position on the terms of reference which, it said, should be "clear, precise and unambiguous", while Japan expected the panel to work under GATT's standard terms of reference to examine the complaint stated in the submission of Japan - even though the GATT’s new dispute settlement procedures do not apply to the Tokyo Round committees.

The reference to the panel under the code is mandatory when conciliation fails, as it has. But behind the dispute over the terms of reference is the fact that the Japanese challenge not only involves the duties on audio-cassettes but the entire methodology used by the EC in its determination of dumping and dumping margins. A GATT spokesman could not clarify the basis that the EC had used - constructed value, price in third markets etc.

Japan's complaint has been that the EC's determination of "injury" (without which no duty could be levied) and the calculation of the dumping margin and thus the duty did not conform to the Tokyo Round code. The EC, which has levied duties of 15-25 percent, has contended that Japan's own market is closed, that the Japanese manufactures maintain an artificially high domestic price and use it to subsidise exports.