YOON&YANG

Yoon & Yang Successfully Supports the Korean government before the WTO over the Washers dispute

  • Recent Matters
  • 2017.02.02
Yoon & Yang LLC successfully supported the Korean government in a World Trade Organization (“WTO”) dispute with the United States regarding the United States’ imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on large residential washers (“Washers”) from Korea.

The WTO requires that disputes arising between Members concerning their rights and obligations under the WTO agreements be resolved through the WTO dispute settlement system.  The dispute settlement process of the WTO consists of several procedural stages including the panel examination, appellate review, implementation, and possibly retaliation, through which the enforceability of the WTO rules and decisions is secured.

Last September 2016, the WTO Appellate Body circulated its final ruling in United States – Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Measures on Large Residential Washers from Korea (DS464).  The Appellate Body held that the antidumping duties on Washers exported from the Korean manufacturers, Samsung and LG Electronics, by the United States Department of Commerce (“USDOC”) in 2013, which amounted to 9-13%, through the use of zeroing in addressing ‘targeted dumping’ is inconsistent with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement.

Targeted dumping relates to a situation where a pattern exists of export prices differing significantly among different purchasers, regions or time periods.  The USDOC determined promotional sales on Black Friday by Samsung and LG Electronics as targeted dumping, and imposed high rates of antidumping duties by using zeroing.  Zeroing refers to the methodology of determining the amount of dumping by excluding, or setting at zero, the results of comparisons in which the export price exceeds the normal value.  This methodology generally results in increasing the final dumping margin.

The Appellate Body also found in favor of Korea concerning the consistency of the imposition of countervailing duties by the USDOC on tax credits granted on Samsung’s R&D with the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.  Accordingly, the USDOC needs to modify its countervailing duty decision in a manner consistent with the Appellate Body findings.

In this high-profile case between the sovereign governments, the International Trade Practice Group of Yoon & Yang proved its expertise in international trade dispute resolution by successfully advising the Korean government and the industry on various legal and factual issues.

As the leading pioneer of international trade law among Korean law firms, Yoon & Yang’s International Trade Practice Group is highly appraised as the most well-rounded and client-oriented practice team with unrivaled reputation and in-depth expertise to provide the finest legal service across a wide spectrum of international trade issues faced by sovereign governments and global companies.
Practices
#International Trade

Professionals