US may file complaint over EU's new high-tech tariffs
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(InfoWorld) - A U.S. government official played down reports that the U.S. is considering taking the European Union to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the imposition of new duties on high-tech imports such as flat-screen monitors and digital set-top boxes. âThe U.S. has expressed its concern about the E.U. proposal to apply duties to sophisticated products covered by the Information Technology Agreement (ITA),â the official, based at the U.S. embassy in Brussels, said in a telephone interview Friday. He said taking the issue to the WTO, the worldâs trade arbitrator based in Geneva, is still a possibility. âOur options are open,â he said, but added that many concerns about trade matters do not end up as WTO cases. The ITA was signed by most countries producing IT products in 1997. It sets tariffs on goods designed for businesses at zero in order to help spur economic growth. However, as the price of items such as flat-screen monitors has fallen in recent years, they are increasingly being bought by consumers. The E.U. has started to reclassify some equipment as consumer goods, which require import tariffs of around 10 percent. Applying a tariff to new types of goods could potentially lead to higher prices, unless the vendor or manufacturer shoulders the additional cost. The European Commission, the E.U.'s representative body on trade matters, defended its actions. The E.U. classifies products on the basis of "objective criteria," Peter Power, the Commissionâs trade spokesman in a statement. "U.S. claims of E.U. re-classifying products in violation of ITA commitments are unfounded,â he said, adding that the EU "respects the spirit of the ITA" when classifying new technologies. TheÂ E.U. drew sharp criticism from the U.S.Â this week over its decision toÂ dismiss Microsoft's appealÂ of the European Commission's 2004 antitrust ruling against it. The U.S. government official, who did not wish to be identified, denied Friday that the U.S. concerns over tariffs are a reaction to that decision. "This is a long-standing issue for the U.S. government. We've been making these comments about the ITA since 2006," the official said.
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US questions about how Japan and the European Union would retaliate against a law that has handed more than $750 million in customs duties to US companies stalled World Trade Organization approval of the sanctions today.
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The United States and Europe will discuss a spat over state subsidies to Airbus and Boeing at the World Trade Organization next week, a US official said.
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The United States and the European Union faced off on Wednesday over billions of dollars in subsidies for top aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing, by filing competing cases at the World Trade Organization.
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The United States said on Tuesday it may soon take legal action in a trade row over government help for Airbus and Boeing, particularly as the European aircraft maker was seeking support for a new project. Washington and Brussels have so far resisted launching legal action at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in their battle over allegations of illegal subsidies to the aviation rivals, but that option may now be just weeks away.
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The European Union challenged the US to show how a new American tax law complies with international trade rules, prolonging an eight-year-old dispute over breaks worth more than $4 billion for US companies.
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The dogfight between Europe and the United States over subsidies to airplane builders Airbus and Boeing is already potentially the largest trade dispute in history and looks set to get nastier.
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NEW YORK, October 25  - The European Union (EU) plans to lift the existing sanctions on US goods worth about $4 billion in response to a new bill that repeals the illegal export tax subsidies in the US.
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The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said that the US should not have imposed import duties on South Korean memory maker Hynix. However, early indications suggest the US may be preparing to appeal against the judgement.
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According to US Trade Representative Susan Schwab, the US is now considering taking action with the WTO over existing and proposed European tariffs on LCDs, set top boxes, and MFDs.
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The European Union on Thursday demanded Washington explain more clearly how it subsidizes Boeing Co. and said any US challenge targeting EU rival Airbus Industrie before the World Trade Organization would be countered.
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Canada may impose retaliatory duties on US imports for the first time since 1986, exposing strains in the world&#39;s largest trading relationship.
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The top trade officials from the United States and the European Union will discuss a row over state subsidies accorded US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and European rival Airbus at a meeting here October 18, a European Commission spokeswoman said Wednesday.
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The European Union on Thursday demanded that Washington explain more clearly how it subsidizes the Boeing Co. and warned it would counter any US challenge targeting France
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PARIS, Dec 7  - The United States wants rapid progress in resolving a dispute with the European Union on public aid to rival aircraft makers Boeing and Airbus, and will call for World Trade Organisation mediation if US-EU talks do not produce results
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The US considers complaining to the WTO about what it says is Chinese intellectual piracy.
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The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC)&#160;said it will investigate whether Qualcomm is complying with a ban that prohibits it from importing certain chips into the U.S.The investigation is the result of a complaint that Broadcom filed with the U.S. ITC. Qualcomm is importing chips that employ a work-around of a Broadcom patent that the court ruled Qualcomm infringes. Broadcom alleges that the new technology also infringes its patent.The investigation is the latest chapter in a long-running dispute between the two chip companies. In July, the ITC ruled that Qualcomm was infringing on Broadcom patents. In a very rare decision,&#160;the ITC forbade the import of phones that included future versions of certain Qualcomm chips rather than all the offending chips because the commission decided that would have unduly damaged the economy.However,&#160;the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has since stayed that ruling.One attorney suspects that Broadcom&#39;s most recent complaint to the ITC is an effort to essentially overrule the appeals&#39; court stay.&quot;This enforcement proceeding represents a crafty way for Broadcom to get around the court&#39;s stay and go directly to the ITC to give some teeth to the remedy provided by the ITC,&quot; said Lyle Vander Schaaf, an attorney at Bryan Cave and a former ITC attorney.If the commission decides in Broadcom&#39;s favor, Qualcomm could face millions of dollars in penalties, he said.Broadcom said it is seeking fines and additional orders against Qualcomm.