Brazil Plans U.S. WTO Complaint over Orange Juice

Brazil will file a complaint against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization over its anti-dumping methodology on orange juice shipments, Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Brazil disputes the use of a methodology known as “zeroing,” whereby countries can inflate anti-dumping duties, the ministry said. The method considers the difference between the price of a product in its home country and in the U.S., except when the product is sold at a higher price in the U.S.

The practice is used by U.S. Department of Commerce and hurts Brazil exports, the ministry said, adding that WTO condemned the practice on “several” occasions.

The complaint is Brazil’s first at the WTO against the U.S. since President Barack Obama took office in January. Brazil will request a panel of the WTO’s dispute settlement panel on Aug. 31, the ministry said. Brazil expects the probe to start by Sept. 25, according to the statement today.

“Brazil’s decision to request the panel reflects the perception that zeroing, besides bring incompatible with multilateral trade rules, causes great uncertainties and serious damage to exporters,” the statement said.

China overtook the U.S. as Brazil’s largest trading partner this year, as exports to the world’s largest economy shrank amid the global financial crisis and Chinese imports from Brazil rose.