32 WTO members take anti-dumping actions during first half of 2010

Wednesday, 3 November 2010 01:31 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

At the meeting of the Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices on 26-27 October 2010, 32 WTO members reported taking anti-dumping actions during the first half of the year (the European Union counting as one).

A number of these actions were questioned during the meeting, and the members concerned were urged to follow WTO rules.

The following members notified anti-dumping actions taken during the period 1 January — 30 June 2010: Argentina; Australia; Botswana; Brazil; Canada; Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Egypt; European Union; India; Indonesia; Israel; Jamaica; Korea; Lesotho; Mexico; Namibia; New Zealand; Pakistan; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Philippines; South Africa; Swaziland; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; Turkey; Ukraine and the United States.

Chile said it was following closely Brazil’s investigation on sea salt, which started last March.

The United States questioned the extension and increase of Brazil’s anti-dumping duty on ethylene glycol. Brazil assured Chile that the investigation would follow WTO rules, and explained to the United States that Brazilian law on sunset review provided for both extension and modification of level of duty.

On Japan’s concern regarding China’s treatment of a Japanese exporter of chloroprene rubber in an anti-dumping investigation, China said that it found a discrepancy between the exporter’s answer in the questionnaire and the result of an on-spot investigation.

In reply to questions from the United States and the European Union, China said it would follow WTO rules in its investigation on optical fibre. In a general statement, China said that despite being the number one target of anti-dumping and countervailing-duty measures, it was prudently using the anti-dumping instrument.

The European Union, in its answer to China, said that its simultaneous safeguard, anti-dumping and countervailing-duty investigations on wireless wide area networking modems, and a separate investigation on ironing boards, are justified and would follow WTO rules.

Turkey expressed serious concern that Indonesia’s investigation on wheat flour has not been concluded two years after it had started.

China questioned the United States’ methodology in its anti-dumping investigation on tubular goods. Japan expressed concern that the average duration of US measures on 19 Japanese products is 15 years.

The United States said it would refer China’s question to capital.

The Committee reviewed notifications of new or amended anti-dumping legislation from Colombia, Croatia and Guyana.

The Committee Chairman, Adrián Serra (Argentina), reported on meetings held by the Working Group on Implementation and the Informal Group on Anti-Circumvention, respectively.

He said that the Working Group on Implementation had a good discussion on four papers: separate papers by Korea and New Zealand on their experiences with respect to sunset reviews; and papers from Egypt on constructed export price and on the accuracy and adequacy test.