US, Brazil in orange juice dispute

The United States pledged Friday to rectify some of its anti-dumping measures on imports of Brazilian orange juice after the World Trade Organization ruled that the measures flouted international rules. Brazil welcomed Washington's decision to not appeal against the WTO's March ruling and said both sides had reached an agreement to give the US nine months to bring their regulations into line with trade rules. "After consulting with Brazil, the United States would like to state that it intends to implement the recommendations and rulings of the dispute settlement body in this dispute in a manner that respects US WTO obligations," a statement said. In turn, Brazil welcomed the US decision to waive its right to appeal against the WTO ruling, calling it "an important shift of attitude" on Washington's part. In March, the WTO found that some anti-dumping duties imposed by the United States on imports of Brazilian orange juice violated international trade rules. Brazil claimed in a complaint filed in 2008 that the method used by Washington to calculate when its orange juice was dumped, or sold at less than cost price on US markets, was illegal. The WTO dispute settlement panel accepted the Brazilian complaint on two points, ruling that the United States had "acted inconsistently" in applying its controversial and complex method called 'zeroing.' It recommended that the United States "bring its measures into conformity with its obligations under the Anti-Dumping Agreement." The United States has lost several disputes in the 153-member WTO over its use of the anti-dumping calculation on a variety of imports.