GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) appeals body upheld a panel ruling on Wednesday that duties imposed by Indonesia on certain flat-rolled iron or steel imports violate WTO rules, in a case brought by Taiwan and Vietnam.
The WTO Appellate Body backed the finding of a year ago that the duty was applied in a discriminatory way as Jakarta exempted 120 developing countries, while applying it to Taiwan and Vietnam, thus going against the most-favoured-nation principle.
It agreed that the measures applied to galvalume, used in metal roofing, do not constitute WTO safeguard measures, rejecting an argument of the complainants and Indonesia itself. Safeguard duties are emergency tariffs that a country can impose temporarily to shield a specific sector from a sudden and damaging surge in imports.
Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg
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