Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards
Remerciements
Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2006 a été rédigé sous la supervision d’Alejandro Jara Directeur général adjoint. Patrick Low Directeur de la Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques a dirigé l’équipe chargée de la rédaction. Les principaux auteurs du rapport sont Marc Bacchetta Bijit Bora K. Michael Finger Marion Jansen Alexander Keck Clarisse Morgan Roberta Piermartini et Robert Teh. Les statistiques commerciales ont été fournies par les statisticiens de la Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques dont les travaux ont été coordonnés par Guy Karsenty Julia de Verteuil Andreas Maurer et Jürgen Richtering.
Introduction
Dumping is in general a situation of international price discrimination where the price of a product when sold to the importing country is less than the price of the same product when sold in the market of the exporting country. It is generally accepted in the multilateral trading system that if dumping takes place it might result in unfair trade as the domestic industry of the importing country might suffer harm as a result of the dumping. If this is the case the authorities of the importing country may if certain requirements are met take action against dumping. Anti-dumping action can therefore only be taken if dumping is taking place accompanied by consequent injury to the domestic industry.
Resumen
el Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial 2009 se centra principalmente en ciertas medidas de contingencia a que pueden recurrir los Miembros de la OMC en el ámbito de la importación y exportación de mercancías. El marco jurídico de estas medidas está mucho menos desarrollado en el caso del comercio de servicios aunque este asunto también se analiza.
Quelques objectifs déclarés des subventions publiques
Dans cette section il sera question des principaux objectifs que les pouvoirs publics prétendent poursuivre au moyen des subventions tels que le développement industriel l’innovation le soutien de “champions“ nationaux la protection de l’environnement et la redistribution. Sous la rubrique générale de la “redistribution“ nous examinerons trois objectifs plus spécifiques: l’utilisation de subventions à des fins de politique régionale l’aide à l’ajustement pour les secteurs en déclin et les obligations de service universel. Ce choix ne prétend pas être exhaustif mais il couvre certains des principaux objectifs poursuivis par les gouvernements des pays en développement et des pays développés.
Introduction
Although the AD Agreement contains some guidance on the methodologies to be applied in calculating the margin of dumping it does not provide comprehensive and detailed provisions to deal with all the issues involved. In some instances the AD Agreement provides for different options and leaves it to investigating authorities to decide which methodology to apply. In some of those instances where the AD Agreement does not provide clear guidance the practice of Members differs to a greater or lesser degree. An effort has been made to refer to the different practices of Members where the authors were aware of such practices. It is therefore not claimed that these references are complete and is done without any reference to the WTO compatibility or not of such practices.
Forward by the Director-General
In the last few months trade has contracted more than at any time since the 1930s reflecting the dramatic global economic downturn provoked in the first instance by the collapse of major financial institutions. Trade growth will be strongly negative this year and we are unlikely to see sustained economic growth until 2010. This adversity is severely testing the policy ingenuity of governments across the globe and in today’s interdependent world their willingness to make common cause in addressing shared challenges. Effective international cooperation and open markets are as vital today as they have ever been.
Les subventions et l’OMC
Précédemment dans le rapport nous avons examiné les arguments économiques qui plaident pour ou contre différents types de subventions. L’analyse économique nous montre qu’il est parfois possible de remédier efficacement à divers types de défaillances du marché en recourant à des subventions. Elle nous montre également que les subventions peuvent fausser les courants d’échanges si elles donnent un avantage concurrentiel artificiel à des exportateurs ou à des branches de production concurrençant les importations. Le fait qu’une subvention est considérée comme une intervention souhaitable destinée à corriger une défaillance du marché ou comme une intervention ayant des effets de distorsion des échanges indésirables dépend parfois de la personne qui juge. Cela étant l’analyse économique devrait pouvoir aider à la fois à déterminer si une intervention est souhaitable sur le plan de bien-être et à évaluer les bienfaits d’autres formes d’intervention. Les pouvoirs publics peuvent cependant décider d’accorder certains types de subventions qui ont peu de choses à voir avec des considérations en matière d’efficacité et en pareils cas une analyse économique fondée sur une simple analyse du bien-être peut être d’une utilité limitée. Dans ces cas également il est probable que l’analyse est surtout utile pour faire en sorte que les décideurs soient conscients du coût que représente la réalisation d’objectifs particuliers et prennent connaissance d’autres façons moins coûteuses d’y parvenir. Nous savons aussi que juger de ce qu’il faut subventionner ainsi que du montant et de la durée de la subvention représente des questions techniques complexes sur lesquelles les pouvoirs publics manquent souvent d’informations adéquates.
Case-Study on Injury
This case-study seeks to illustrate the concepts discussed in a concrete fashion in the context of a hypothetical investigation. It should be borne in mind that the methodologies described herein do not necessarily represent the practices of any particular WTO Member and their disucssion in this case-study is not intended as an endorsement of those methodologies or as an indication that such methodologies are consistent with the AD Agreement. Nor are any of the possible conclusions or outcomes discussed in this case-study necessarily valid or sustainable in the context of WTO dispute settlement. The case-study merely seeks to illustrate possible approaches that might be taken to resolving issues that commonly arise in anti-dumping injury analysis. The methods presented herein are by no means the only available methodologies but they are based on methods that have been applied by Members which have not been disapproved by any dispute settlement Panel. In many instances there may be more than one approach to resolving a particular injury-related issue that would be consistent with Member obligations under the AD Agreement.
Incidencia de las subvenciones
En esta sección se presenta un panorama de la utilización de las subvenciones tanto a nivel mundial como a distintos niveles de desglose geográfico y sectorial. Teniendo en cuenta la cantidad y la calidad de los datos disponibles no es posible presentar un cuadro exhaustivo y sistemático de la incidencia de las subvenciones.
Agradecimientos
El Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial 2009 ha sido elaborado bajo la dirección general del Director General Adjunto Alejandro Jara y supervisado por Patrick Low Director de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística. Los autores principales del Informe son Marc Bacchetta K. Michael Finger Marion Jansen Alexander Keck Coleman Nee Roberta Piermartini Michele Ruta y Robert Teh. Las estadísticas comerciales fueron facilitadas por el Grupo de Estadística de la División de Estudios Económicos y Estadística bajo la coordinación de Hubert Escaith Julia de Verteuil Andreas Maurer y Jürgen Richtering. También han aportado contribuciones escritas Rudolf Adlung Lee-Ann Jackson Jesse Kreier y Hiromi Yano.
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2009 was prepared under the general direction of Deputy Director-General Alejandro Jara and supervised by Patrick Low Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division The principal authors of the Report were Marc Bacchetta K. Michael Finger Marion Jansen Alexander Keck Coleman Nee Roberta Piermartini Michele Ruta and Robert Teh. Trade statistics information was provided by the Statistics Group of the Economic Research and Statistics Division coordinated by Hubert Escaith Julia de Verteuil Andreas Maurer and Jürgen Richtering. Other written contributions were provided by Rudolf Adlung Lee-Ann Jackson Jesse Kreier and Hiromi Yano.
The Anti-Dumping Investigation
Once the decision to initiate an investigation has been taken and the required public notice has been given the formal investigation process starts.
Defining subsidies
At the origins of the GATT little attention was given to the trade impact of subsidies. However contracting parties soon appreciated the need to deal with subsidies in order to secure the value of their agreed tariff concessions. A country can undermine its market access commitments by providing subsidies to import-competing industries. In addition subsidies given to competing exporters in third countries can divert trade away from a country that had relied on negotiated market access to another market. These concerns led to the development of more stringent disciplines on subsidies than those initially provided for under the GATT (1947). A major step was the negotiation of the plurilateral “Subsidies Code” during the Tokyo Round and thereafter of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) and the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA).
A Handbook on Anti-Dumping Investigations
The subject of anti-dumping procedures has received growing attention in international trade policy and has become a source of tension between countries. This handbook covers the major areas arising in anti-dumping investigations as embodied in the relevant WTO provisions providing an exposition of well-sourced information explanations and guidance for grasping the intricacies of anti-dumping proceedings. Beginning with a chronicle of an anti-dumping investigation the book proceeds to consider the crucial issues involved: calculation of dumping margins and determinations of injury and causation. Well structured and easy to follow the handbook is designed to assist in a practical way investigators delegated the authority to conduct the required investigation. Clearly presented and informative this book will also interest government officials involved in international trade policy importing and exporting enterprises affected by anti-dumping investigations and their representatives including private legal practitioners and consultants and academic readers concerned with international trade issues.
The incidence of subsidies
This Section provides an overview of the use of subsidies both at the global level and at different levels of geographical and sectoral disaggregation. Given the quantity and quality of the available data it is not possible to provide a comprehensive and systematic picture of the incidence of subsidies.
Form and Content of Questionnaires
The timetable for completing an entire anti-dumping investigation is short. If the investigation does not proceed in a rapid and orderly manner it can become very difficult for investigating authorities to meet necessary internal deadlines to ensure that the ultimate deadlines are met. Thus the investigating authorities should rapidly complete their review of the application and other sources of available information and immediately begin work on drafting the questionnaires to be transmitted to each of the industry segments.
Prefacio
El Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial 2006 es el cuarto de una serie iniciada en 2002. Como en los años anteriores el presente Informe se ocupa de un tema actual de política comercial. Este año hemos examinado las subvenciones. La contribución que esperamos aportar con estos informes consiste en ayudar a comprender las complejas cuestiones a que hacen frente los gobiernos en materia de políticas comerciales. No se trata primordialmente de un informe preceptivo sino más bien de una invitación a realizar una reflexión más profunda y se dirige no sólo a los responsables de la formulación de políticas sino también al público que ellos representan y a las personas y las organizaciones que tratan activamente de influir en las políticas gubernamentales. Además del tema central el Informe también examina brevemente la reciente evolución del comercio y analiza algunas características destacadas de los últimos acontecimientos comerciales o de algún aspecto particular del comercio. Este año el Informe examina brevemente el comercio de los textiles y el vestido las corrientes de ingresos internacionales y de pagos de regalías y derechos de licencia las tendencias del comercio de los países menos adelantados y las repercusiones de los desastres naturales y los actos terroristas en las corrientes del comercio internacional.
Incidence des subventions
La présente section donne une vue d’ensemble de l’utilisation des subventions tant au niveau mondial qu’à différents niveaux de désagrégation géographique et sectorielle. Étant donné la quantité et la qualité des données disponibles il n’est pas possible de présenter un tableau complet et systématique de l’incidence des subventions.
Selected trade developments and issues
The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) came to an end on 1 January 2005. Much interest not to mention concern was expressed about the likely impact on production and trade of the removal of quota restrictions. It was apparent to most observers that there would be winners and losers from the additional liberalization. It is too early to say how the market will look beyond the relatively short period upon which we can base our observations but this note looks at what we know so far about the pattern of trade that has emerged since the quantitative restrictions were (largely) removed. A caveat is in order here: there can be little doubt that the termination of the AT C affected the patterns of trade observed in 2005 but we have not developed a rigorous analytical approach to the question of what other factors might also influence the pattern of trade flows.