TRADE

JAPAN IMPOSES TARIFF ON U.S. STEEL; COULD COST $51M

Japan will slap 15% levies on U.S. steel starting September 1 in retaliation for American duties imposed on Japanese products, a Trade Ministry official said today.

The tariffs could run to a maximum of $51 million, a ministry official, Etsuo Sato, said.

Japan has demanded the repeal of duties imposed by America on Japanese steel products under the so-called Byrd amendment, an anti-dumping law ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization.

Japan imports secondary steel products, such as ball bearings, from America and other countries.

Washington placed tariffs on hot-rolled steel from Japan, Brazil, and other nations starting in 1999 on allegations that those countries were selling their products at unfairly low prices.

– Associated Press

PHARMACEUTICAL

JUDGE CERTIFIES LARGEST CLASS ACTION AGAINST MERCK

Merck & Company will have to defend itself in a class-action lawsuit over its Vioxx painkiller in New Jersey, a state judge has ruled.

Superior Court Judge Carol Higbee, in Atlantic County, N.J., agreed on Friday to certify as a class action a suit brought by the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68 on behalf of all third-party payors, such as health-maintenance organizations, managed-care organizations, employers, and unions. The ruling creates the largest single claim to date against Merck.

“Under the facts of this case with the Merck Corporation being located in New Jersey and New Jersey being applicable, the location of the third party payors class action belongs in the jurisdiction of the New Jersey state court system,” Judge Higbee said in a 70-page ruling. Merck, the third-largest American drugmaker, withdrew Vioxx in September 2004 after research showed users had a greater risk of heart attacks and strokes. It was the world’s biggest drug recall.

– Bloomberg News

FOOD

ATKINS INC. FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY

Atkins Nutritionals Incorporated, the company that promoted low-carb eating into a national diet craze, filed for bankruptcy court protection yesterday, a company spokesman said.

Atkins has been hurt by waning popularity of its namesake diet, which focuses on eliminating carbohydrates such as bread and pasta as a way to shed weight. The diet quickly became one of the most popular in American history, spawning numerous derivatives and a virtual cottage industry of low-carb regimens – but also drew criticism from many experts for its focus on fatty foods and low fruit and vegetable consumption.

A hearing on the prearranged, Chapter 11 filing was scheduled for today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, spokesman Richard Rothstein said. The privately held company, founded in 1989 by Dr. Robert Atkins, said it had reached an agreement with the majority of its lenders to give them equity in exchange for lowered debt.

Atkins owes $300 million in outstanding principal and interest, Mr. Rothstein said. The company said it had received $25 million in financing to operate during the bankruptcy proceedings, which it said would not affect day-to-day operations.

– Associated Press