http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13607-2004Nov25.html WTO to Act on Punitive Tariffs Friday, November 26, 2004; Page E02
The World Trade Organization today is expected to approve authorization by the European Union, Japan and five other governments to place tariffs on U.S. goods, a WTO official said. The duties are retaliation for a U.S. law that allows the U.S. government to distribute customs duties to companies instead of the Treasury. The duties will be applied next year unless Congress repeals the law, known as the Byrd Amendment. Microsoft Case Proceeds Despite Deals The European Union and Microsoft agreed to let testimony stand in their five-year antitrust battle despite settlements with the software company by two of the E.U.'s biggest supporters. The agreement came after Judge Bo Vesterdorf called an informal meeting to discuss the effects of Novell and the Computer & Communications Industry Association's Nov. 8 deals with Microsoft. Vesterdorf is expected to decide by Dec. 20 whether to suspend the E.U. order against Microsoft that includes a $646 million fine. MORE NEWS The dollar fell to a low against the euro, which climbed above $1.32 for the first time. The dollar's weakness, driven primarily by concerns about U.S. trade and budget deficits, has pushed the euro up from $1.20 about two months ago. Martha Stewart's conviction for obstructing justice should be upheld because the evidence "overwhelmingly established" her guilt, U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley argued in a court filing. INTERNATIONAL China began its biggest sale of bad loans, inviting Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and other companies to bid for assets valued at $18.1 billion, more than four times the total sold so far to overseas investors, as it prepares to give overseas competitors greater access at the end of 2006. Great Wall Asset Management, which disposes of nonperforming loans for the Agricultural Bank of China, is selling all its distressed assets, with a face value of 150 billion yuan ($18.1 billion), the company said. Overseas investors have bought loans in China valued at 33 billion yuan ($4 billion). Singapore's Changi Airport said it started on Nov. 1 a six-month test of its new security system that uses fingerprints and facial features to identify passengers at Asia's sixth-busiest airport. The system, the first to combine check-in and immigration processes, scans travelers' facial features and fingerprints upon departure and will reduce passenger processing time, the aviation authority said. The Asian Development Bank approved a $133 million loan for Pakistan to help the country's biggest province improve its finances and introduce economic policy changes. The bank estimates that the poverty level in the province, Baluchistan, may be as high as 47 percent and that 33 percent of Pakistan's 150 million people live in poverty. Alcan, the world's second-largest aluminum company, said it will close two food-packaging plants and a rolling mill and decrease other operations in Europe to cut costs, eliminating about 520 jobs. Alcan employs about 46,000 people in Europe. Nissan Motor, Japan's second-largest carmaker, will halt production at three plants for five days because it doesn't have enough steel, curbing output by 25,000 vehicles. Nissan aims to make up the shortfall in January, a spokesman said. Compiled from reports by the Associated Press, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones News Service and Washington Post staff writers.
