WTO Expected to Side with Japan Over Fukushima Imports

SEOUL, Mar 11, 2019, Chosunilbo. The World Trade Organization is expected to side with Japan in a complaint filed against Korea for banning seafood imports from Fukushima after the nuclear plant meltdown there, reported the Chosunilbo.

The WTO already found in favor of Japan in a first ruling in February of 2018, but Korea appealed. diplomatic source in Seoul said the WTO set April 11 as the final ruling date and added, “There is a strong chance of Korea losing.”

If it does lose, Korea has three to 15 months before it has to lift the ban. The ruling would add to conflict between the scrappy neighbors, which are already at loggerheads over a mountain of historical issues and a recent spat over flybys by Japanese surveillance aircraft.

Japanese media reported that Tokyo is considering slapping punitive tariffs on Korean exports if Korean victims of forced labor by imperial Japan move to sell seized assets of Japanese businesses in Korea.

The Korean government banned imports of seafood products from and near Fukushima in March of 2011 and extended the ban to eight Japanese prefectures in September 2013. Japan filed the complaint at the WTO in May 2015, and the organization in a preliminary ruling last year said the ban “excessively” limits trade.

Seoul has apparently failed to provide convincing scientific evidence to back up its claims. A Korean government source admitted that the current ban “is harsh compared to international standards.”

Korea could negotiate a compromise with Japan that limits the ban to Fukushima, but Seoul-Tokyo relations are at such a low ebb that diplomatic channels have virtually dried up.

Seoul does not have many options if it loses the appeal. Lee Jae-min at Seoul National University said, “The best option would be to get the longest possible grace period to hold talks with Japan.”

Lee added the case could damage Korea’s reputation even though it is otherwise a model country in terms of abiding by WTO rules.