Posted on 21 May 2015
Japan filed an appeal against a World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute panel report on anti-dumping duties imposed by China on high-performance seamless stainless steel tubes from Japan, the country's trade ministry said on Wednesday.
A WTO dispute panel upheld most parts of a complaint against China in February in a case brought by Japan and the European Union challenging Chinese anti-dumping duties on the stainless steel tubes, used in coal-fired power plants.
But Japan decided to appeal to the WTO's appellate body as the panel report did not accept Japan's claims on some issues, including the price effect analysis and the impact analysis, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) METI said.
Japan claims that China's imposition of anti-dumping duties is inconsistent with the WTO anti-dumping agreement because of defects in its determination of injury.
"Japan's export of high-performance seamless stainless steel tubes has increased even after China had imposed anti-dumping duties in 2012. That is an evidence that these Japanese tubes are not competing with Chinese products and not injuring Chinese steel-makers," said Osamu Onodera, director of WTO compliance and dispute settlement at METI.
Japan exported high-performance seamless stainless steel tubes to China worth $140 million in 2014, up from $70 million in 2011, METI said.
The WTO's appellate body has 90 days to issue a final report.
