Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Anti-dumping - WTO at work

The proceedings of the Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices of the WTO makes for a fascinating read. 

See below an extract that is available on the WTO website:
Japan expressed concerns about anti-dumping investigations by China on certain high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes and on m-dihydroxybenzene or resorcinol, by India on melamine and on aniline and by Indonesia on cold rolled coil/sheet. It also complained that the United States continues to maintain five anti-dumping measures against Japan that are more than 30 years old. 
Chile said it is following closely Argentina’s anti-dumping investigations on steel drums and on self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape and strip of plastics, not printed, and Mexico’s investigation on  mushrooms of the genus Agaricus. 
The United States expressed concerns about China’s investigation into thylene glycol monobutyl ether and  diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, and India’s investigation into stainless steel cold rolled flat products.
It looks like many country uses anti-dumping as a tool to protect domestic industry.They are often reported in the Global Trade Alert website like this case. Anti-dumping measures are often challenged at the WTO ether at the Committee stage or in dispute settlement. Transparency in undertaking these measures, as in all other cases of the WTO, is often insisted upon.It also indicates that apart from negotiation and dispute settlement, the role of the Committees in monitoring practices of countries is also crucial for the functioning of the multilateral system.



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