Japan to Impose Tariffs on U.S. Steel

Japan will slap 15% levies on U.S. steel starting Sept. 1 in retaliation for American duties imposed on Japanese products, a trade ministry official said today.

The tariffs could run to a maximum of 5.7 billion yen, or $51 million, trade ministry official Etsuo Sato said.

Japan has demanded the repeal of duties imposed by the United States on Japanese steel products under the so-called Byrd amendment, an anti-dumping law ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization.

Japan imports secondary steel products, such as ball bearings, from the U.S. and other countries.

Washington placed tariffs on hot-rolled steel from Japan, Brazil and other nations starting in 1999 on allegations that those countries were selling their products at unfairly low prices.

Passed in October 2000, the Byrd amendment -- named after Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) -- imposed the penalty tariffs and awarded American companies the revenue collected by the U.S. government on those duties.

The WTO ruled in January 2003 that the U.S. measure unlawfully protected the American steel industry.

When the Byrd amendment was not repealed by the end of that year, Japan, the European Union and six other countries won the right to impose a total of $150 million in economic sanctions against the United States.

Japanese officials have said that they have the right to take countermeasures after repeatedly urging American officials to repeal the duties.