Japan looks just like a knight throwing down the gauntlet without being fully prepared to actually fight.
In a key steel-trade row with the United States, Japanese government officials appear to be in no hurry to move on to the next stage of the World Trade Organization's dispute-settlement procedures. Some are even wondering if pushing the U.S. too hard on the issue would really be a good thing for the entire global trade system.
In late October, then U.S. President Bill Clinton signed into law a controversial antidumping bill on steel trade. The law allows the U.S. administration to compensate U.S. steelmakers hurt by dumping by sharing with them revenues from antidumping duties.