Japan Has Been Unsuccessful Against South Korea In WTO Disputes

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Aug. 18 that South Korea and Japan have been engaged in six WTO disputes and dispute settlement procedures are underway for half of them after Japan took legal proceedings. The WTO added that South Korea won the three finished cases.

Back in June 2016, Japan brought a case against South Korea, claiming that the latter’s anti-dumping duties on Japanese pneumatic transmission valves violated WTO rules. The Appellate Body of the WTO is going to make a judgment for the case next month. In June 2018, Japan brought a similar case concerning stainless steel bars. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body organized a panel for the case in January this year. In November last year, Japan made an issue of the South Korean government’s shipbuilding industry restructuring plan, claiming that it violated the WTO Subsidies Agreement.

As mentioned above, three out of the six cases have finished so far. South Korea sued Japan in 2004 with regard to its laver import quota. Japan decided to increase South Korean laver imports in 2006 and South Korea dropped the case.

Later, Japan imposed a countervailing duty of 27.2 percent on DRAM chips manufactured by Hynix. The WTO made its final determination on the case in April 2009 and Japan had to abolish the duty.

The other case was brought by Japan in relation to South Korea’s import ban on marine products produced in and around Fukushima. The Appellate Body of the WTO ruled in favor of South Korea in April this year.