U.S. Retaliations
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 provides the United States
with the authority to enforce trade agreements, resolve trade
disputes and open foreign markets to U.S. goods and services.
Section 301 is the principal statutory authority under which the
United States may impose trade sanctions on foreign countries
that either violate trade agreements or otherwise maintain laws
or practices that are unjustifiable and restrict U.S. commerce.
When an investigation involves an alleged violation of a trade
agreement (such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement
or the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)), United States
Trade Representative (USTR) must follow the consultation and dispute
settlement procedures set out in that agreement. If the United
States finds it necessary to increase duties because of a violation
of the WTO, USTR will seek authority from the WTO's Dispute Settlement
Body to suspend trade concessions previously granted to the foreign
country. Such actions include increasing import duties.
Current
Recently Closed
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Current Retaliatory Actions
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY BEEF HORMONES (1999 to present)
The EU ban of imports of meat and meat products derived
from cattle to which any of six hormones have been administered
for growth promotional purposes has effectively blocked
U.S. beef from entering the European Community market
since 1989. Both a WTO panel and the Appellate Body ruled
that the ban was inconsistent with the EU's WTO obligations
under the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures agreement.
The EU was given until May 13, 1999 to come into compliance
with the WTO rulings. The EU did not lift the ban on hormone-treated
beef by the WTO deadline. In response, the United States
requested and received authorization from the WTO to retaliate
against the EU. The United States began to impose prohibitive
duties in the order of 100 percent ad volorem tariffs
on 34 products from across the EU in July 1999.
Federal Register
Notice(s) 
Recently Closed Cases
UKRAINE OPTICAL MEDIA PIRACY (January 2002 to August
2005)
In 2001, the U.S. government identified Ukraine as a
Priority Foreign Country (PFC) in the National Trade Estimate
(NTE) report to Congress because Ukrainian laws and enforcement
mechanisms did not adequately protect optical media products
(e.g. CDs and DVDs) from piracy. Shortly after the PFC
designation, the U.S. government opened a Section 301
investigation. The investigation led to the U.S. government's
decision to revoke Ukraine's GSP status and impose prohibitive
duties in the order of 100 percent ad valorem tariffs
on Ukrainian exports to the United States. The total value
of the Ukrainian products subject to additional duties
was $75 million, which was the amount of U.S. commercial
value lost because of the Ukraine's inadequate protection
against piracy. The additional tariffs were levied against
23 products and went into effect on January 23rd, 2002.
In July 2005, the Ukrainian government passed a package
of important amendments to its Laser-readable Disc Law
that would increase the protection of optical media products
against piracy. After reviewing the details of the law,
the U.S. government decided to suspend the additional
duties being levied against Ukrainian products. The suspension
became effective on August 30th, 2005. Ukraine's GSP status
has not been restored, but is under review. In addition,
the U.S. government will be monitoring the implementation
and enforcement of the amendments to the Laser-readable
Disc Law through an Out-of-Cycle Review.
Federal
Register Notice(s)
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