US-Jap steel war hots up

US-Jap steel war hots up

Agencies

Tokyo, June 12: The US-Japan steel war is set to escalate as the US International Trade Commission decides to impose punitive tariffs on Japanese steel imports. The unanimous 6-0 decision sets the scene for another confrontation between two of the world's major trading partners, who have already clashed many times before. Nowhere is the verbal abuse of competitors more evident than in the United States, where steel-makers have been clamouring for protection from cheap imports. The trade dispute comes at a time of rising trade tensions between the United States and Europe over beef and bananas, and a failure of the world community to find a new leader of the World Trade Organisation, which is supposed to regulate disputes. The American industry -- which has a long history of being feather-bedded by the government -- has accused Japanese, Russian and Brazilian producers of dumping hot-rolled steel in the US at prices below production costs or home market rates. The US Commerce Department ruled in April thatJapan had violated trade laws and proposed tariffs as high as 67 per cent.

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