Brussels, 25/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Union has agreed to grant a further delay for the United States to "fully" comply with the decision of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) condemning its 1916 anti-dumping and anti-trust law. Commissioner Pascal Lamy expressed his satisfaction at the United States' undertaking to repeal this legislation that provided for an arsenal of penal sanction against incriminated companies, and to classify pending cases by 31 December 2001, date at which the reprieve expires.
"I note with satisfaction that the United States intends fully complying with the WTO decisions - and in this context, we are of course prepared to grant the US a little more time to resolve the problem. They even asked for this reprieve, Monday at a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO, pointing out that the amending procedure had been launched and that it would no doubt be necessary, to complete the procedure, to put back the deadline, set at 26 July, to the close of the Congressional session, at the end of the year. A few days earlier, the Administration had presented a draft bill to American legislators repealing this 1916 law, which also provides for classifying cases pending before the courts of the United States. This provision is qualified as being "very important" in Brussels, in the sense that European companies can currently suffer penal sanctions. EUROPE would remind you that the law in question provides for, in case of proven dumping, application of penal sanctions such as compensation and triple interests, fines and even terms of imprisonment. These provisions were declared incompatible with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement which limits measures to the sole act of slapping on anti-dumping duties.