WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/DS138/3
14 January 1999
(99-0149)
Original:  English
UNITED STATES - IMPOSITION OF COUNTERVAILING DUTIES ON
CERTAIN HOT-ROLLED LEAD AND BISMUTH CARBON STEEL PRODUCTS
ORIGINATING IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Request for the Establishment of a Panel by the European Communities
The following communication, dated 14 January 1999, from the Permanent Delegation of the
European Commission to the Chairman of the Disput e Settlement Body, is circulated in accordance
with Article 6.2 of the DSU.
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I have the honour to request the establishment of a panel pursuant to Articles 4 and 6 of the
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes, Article XXIII of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) and Article 30 of the Agreement on Subsidies
and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) with resp ect to the imposition of countervailing duties on
certain hot-rolled lead and bismuth carbon steel (leaded bars) originating in the United Kingdom and
three successive administrative reviews.
On 12 June 1998 the European Communities (EC) requested consultations with the United
States with a view to reaching a mutually satisfactory solution of the matter.  The request was
circulated in document WT/DS138/1 - G/SCM/D26/1 dated 6 July 1998. These consultations, which
were held on 29 July 1998 in Geneva, have allowed a better understanding of the respective positionsbut have not led to a satisfactory resolution of the matter.
The factual background to the complaint is set out in the request for consultations referred to
above. The United States refuses to take account of the privatisation or change of ownership of the
body receiving a subsidy, even if at a full market price, and to consider whether the subsidy stillprovides a benefit when assessing or reassessing the countervailable subsidy. Instead the United
States considers that the subsidy "travels with" the assets when they are transferred.  The United
States allocates the amount of the subsidy to the new owners of the assets according to a methodology
which has no rational basis and has never been explained or justified in the determinations.
The EC request that a dispute settlement panel be established to consider and find that these
measures are in breach of the United States' obligations under the provisions of the ASCM, in
particular, but not necessarily exclusively, of Article 1.1(b), Article 10, Article 14 and Article 19.4 of
the said Agreement.
The EC request that the panel be established with the standard terms of reference.
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