Japan Ends Anti-Dumping Measures "WTO Victory Result"... Ministry of Trade Says "Unrelated to WTO Ruling"

On August 2 last year, Nagamine Yasumasa, the Japanese Ambassador to Korea, was summoned and met with Cho Se-young, the First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs. On that day, the Japanese government decided to remove South Korea from the whitelist (countries receiving preferential export screening for security reasons), escalating the trade conflict between the two countries into a diplomatic dispute. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Japanese government announced that South Korea's anti-dumping measures on Japanese pneumatic transmission valves ended at midnight on the 19th, calling it a "success of the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution process." In response, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy dismissed Japan's claim, stating that it "has nothing to do with the WTO ruling."

According to the Ministry on the 19th, Sankei Shimbun and Kyodo News reported based on a press release from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry that "South Korea lifted tariffs on industrial valves after losing to Japan in the WTO dispute," and that "the end of South Korea's anti-dumping measures is an example of early resolution of issues through the WTO dispute settlement process between Korea and Japan."

Previously, the Japanese government filed a complaint with the WTO against South Korea's imposition of anti-dumping tariffs on Japanese pneumatic transmission valves. These valves are components that use compressed air to control mechanical movement and are used in automobiles, electronic products, and more.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy refuted Japan's claims in an explanatory document. It explained that after Japan's complaint, WTO panel and appellate procedures were conducted, and in September last year, the South Korean government was effectively victorious.

The Ministry emphasized, "We have faithfully complied with the WTO procedures regarding some issues where Japan's claims were accepted and notified both Japan and the WTO," adding, "The termination of the anti-dumping measures is due to the expiration of the imposition period and because domestic producers did not request a review."

Earlier, on May 29, the Ministry issued a press release titled 'Completion of WTO Korea-Japan Pneumatic Valve Anti-Dumping Dispute Implementation,' explaining that "the anti-dumping duty imposition measure is scheduled to sunset at midnight on the 19th, when the five-year imposition period expires."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.