On Friday, August 1st, 2005 Japan’s Cabinet formally approved a decision to impose a 15% retaliatory duty on fifteen U.S. products including ball bearings, airplane parts and steel products. Japan will institute this retaliatory measure beginning September 1st, 2005 on the following U.S. products:

Product

No.

HS Code
Bearings
7

848210000

848220000

848240000

848250000

848280000

848291000

848299000
Steel Products
3

721090010

722012000

722699010
Navigational Instruments
1

901480000
Machinery Accessories
1

846610010
Printing Machines
1

844330000
Forklift Trucks
1

842720000
Industrial Belts
1

591000020
Total

15

Background:
On August 23, 2001, the WTO granted the request of nine WTO members (EU, Australia, Brazil, Chile, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand) to review the WTO-consistency of the U.S. law known as the "Byrd Amendment." The purpose of the law is to transfer anti-dumping and countervailing duties collected by the U.S. Treasury to injured, domestic industries. Trading partners charged that the law violates U.S. obligations under the WTO because it is a de factosubsidy to petitioners, and creates a remedy for dumping and subsidies that goes beyond the administrative proceedings spelled out in the Antidumping and Subsidies Agreement. In November 2004, the European Union, Brazil, Canada, India, South Korea, Japan, and Mexico won the right under the WTO to impose retaliatory tariffs on a number of U.S. products unless the United States changes the Byrd Amendment.