South Korea and seven other key U.S. trading partners have won the right to impose trade sanctions on the U.S. for its failure to repeal a trade law declared illegal by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The WTO ruled Tuesday that South Korea, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Japan, Mexico, and the European Union are now entitled to impose sanctions of up to 72 percent of what they have paid to U.S. companies in punitive duties over the past three years.

The decision came after the U.S. Congress failed to repeal an anti-dumping law known as the Byrd Amendment, named for its principal sponsor, Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and enacted in 2001.

The law allows the government to impose anti-dumping duties on foreign exporters and distribute the exacted taxes to U.S. producers who requested or supported the imposition of those duties. The WTO previously determined that the Byrd Amendment is inconsistent with U.S. international trade obligations.

The WTO had given the U.S. until December 27th of last year to repeal or amend the law.