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The eBearing News
August 17, 2006
Japan Extends CDSOA-Related Sanctions
copyright © 2006 eBearing Inc.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced it will maintain retaliatory
tariffs on bearings made in the United States,
extending them for another year, through September 1, 2007.
These punitive tariffs on U.S. bearings -- 15% -- were approved by the World Trade Organization as
punishment for the U.S. refusal to repeal the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset
Act of 2000. Repeatedly ruled an illegal domestic business subsidy scheme under WTO rules, the
WTO eventually allowed sanctions by trading partners after the U.S. Congress
failed to address CDSOA repeal. The level of punitive tariffs allowed by the WTO are
proportional to the duties paid by each country that is impacted by the CDSOA.
The Ministry had instituted the tariffs September 1, 2005, with a yearly renewal clause.
article: Japan invokes retaliatory tariffs on bearings
Japan's retaliatory tariffs are important because they are the first-ever trade sanctions
by Japan against the United States, underscoring the intensity of the problem as seen by
Japan and other trade partner countries. The European Union put retaliatory tariffs on U.S.
goods in May 2006 and those tariffs will remain in place indefinitely.
Essentially, the CDSOA instructed U.S. Customs to change how it handles duties and tariffs.
Instead of going into the general fund, duties and tariffs collected on items judged to be
sold at unfairly low prices in the U.S. ("dumped") are instead accumulated in accounts related
to each specific industry sector claiming damage. Funds are then distributed to specific companies
able to prove financial suffering due to the imports' existence in the market.
Japan claims that at least 30% of the duties collected are on Japanese-produced goods,
and bearings are disproportionately hard-hit.
15% retaliatory duties on the following products from the U.S.:
HS code 848210000 - Ball bearings
HS code 848220000 - Tapered roller bearings, including cone and tapered roller assemblies
HS code 848240000 - Needle roller bearings
HS code 848250000 - Other cylindrical roller bearings
HS code 848280000 - Roller bearings, including combined ball/roller bearings,
other than subheadings Nos. 8482.20 to 8482.50
HS code 848291000 - Balls, needles and rollers of ball or roller bearings
HS code 848299000 - Parts of ball or roller bearings, other than balls, needles and rollers
along with three types of steel, navigational instruments, machinery accessories, printing machines, forklifts, and industrial belting.
The CDSOA is often referred to as the "Byrd Amendment" after its 11th-hour sponsor, Senator
Robert Byrd.
In February 2006, Congress voted to end the CDSOA as of October 2007, but its end is by
no means assured. Several politicians have indicated their intention to revive the
CDSOA scheme under one or several different guises.
Stephen Norton, U.S. Trade Representative Spokesman, said: "We're disappointed that Japan will continue
to retaliate. The United States has taken all necessary steps to comply with the WTO rulings
in that dispute and further retaliation serves no purpose other than to prolong the dispute."
eBearing's exhaustive account of the CDSOA and its impact on the bearing industry is here:
CDSOA legislation coverage
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- by Bruce A. Carr
from individual research,
tips and commercial sources.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
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Entire contents Copyright 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
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eBearing.com ... for everything that moves™
Entire contents Copyright © 1999-2008, eBearing Inc. All rights reserved.
eBearing.com and "... for everything that moves" are registered trademarks of eBearing Inc.
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