Japan, Canada and the European Union are working together to decide on how best to respond to new US anti-dumping legislation they oppose, a government spokesman said on Monday.
"Although we expressed concern and urged President (Bill) Clinton to veto this amendment, President Clinton signed, and this amendment became law," Kazuhiko Koshikawa, spokesman for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said.
Japanese, Canadian and European ambassadors to the United States had sent a joint letter last Wednesday to Clinton, asking him to veto the new anti-dumping legislation.
The bill, passed by the Senate, allows US companies who file anti-dumping petitions to receive compensation from the proceeds of tariffs levied on foreign steel and apples deemed to be priced at below fair market value.
The new regulations would open the door to a flood of lawsuits from US companies, an official with Japan's foreign ministry said Thursday.
"We regret very much President Clinton's signing of this. We are concerned about this amendment and are acting within the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules," said Koshikawa.
"Now we have close contacts with the European Union (EU) and Canada, studying how to deal with case."
He added the three had requested the World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel to rule on the issue.
But Koshikawa ruled out any retaliatory measures against the United States -- TOKYO (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
