Antidumping and Safeguard Measures in the Political Economy of Liberalization
Antidumping and Safeguard Measures in the Political Economy of Liberalization

Author: Luz Elena Reyes de la Torre

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Mexico's creation and use of safeguard and antidumping processes to advance its liberalization illustrate three key points: (1) The country was able to use the instruments without losing political control. In a period of crisis that threatened congressional approval of critical steps in the liberalization-brought on by currency overvaluation and recession, along with unexpected demands from the United States in the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations-the government applied a number of trade defense measures. Once the problems were addressed with adequate instruments the number of measures dropped drastically. The instruments had not been captured by protection-seeking interests; (2) The country adopted a liberalization-accepting measure of international norms. An important innovation that Mexico made operational was the use within World Trade Organization (WTO) rules of prevailing international prices as the measure of competition that industry was expected to meet. The WTO rules would also have allowed the use of other standards-as in traditional antidumping-using countries-that impose less discipline. Moreover, the Mexican standard was consistent with the government-industry understanding that though Mexican industry would be protected against extraordinary circumstances it would be expected to face up to international competition; (3) Political judgment and political courage are essential. While mastery of the technical elements of a safeguard or antidumping investigation is mandatory, sustaining liberalization depends in significant part on the political skills to know when to emphasize the technical elements, when to rely more on the discretion the government retains under the rules, and on the courage to do it.

Political Economy of Antidumping and Safeguards in Argentina
Political Economy of Antidumping and Safeguards in Argentina

Author: Julio J. Nogués

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 41

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: "Beginning in the late 1980s, Argentina implemented a series of reforms that were revolutionary in speed and scope, including trade liberalization. After the implementation of these policies, a record number of antidumping petitions came forward. Under a situation of high inflation, the government reinforced its fiscal and monetary policies by announcing that it would minimize the use of such measures. The flexible disciplines of the existing domestic antidumping regulations facilitated this objective. Later, when the GATT/WTO-sanctioned trade remedies were implemented, the government made a serious attempt to establish discipline by including liberal regulations and creating special institutional arrangements. A presumption built into the construction of the new mechanisms was that adhering to WTO requirements would strengthen the resistance against protection. This presumption turned out to be false. Changing circumstances, including severe peso overvaluation, had significant effects on the number and outcome of antidumping investigations. Regarding safeguards, the government followed the letter and the spirit of the WTO agreement. In relation to the number of petitions, few measures have been implemented. Rejections were based on a concern for consumer costs and on failure of the industry seeking protection to provide a convincing modernization plan. This, plus the fact that some cases were brought to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, have made safeguards a less attractive instrument for protection-seekers than antidumping. An important positive side of the story is that unlike previous balance of payments adjustments, in spite of the major crisis that followed the recent devaluation, the hard-won liberalization has been maintained."--World Bank web site.

Antidumping and Safeguard Measures in the Political Economy of Liberalization
Antidumping and Safeguard Measures in the Political Economy of Liberalization

Author: Luz Elena Reyes De la Torre

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13:

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"Mexico's creation and use of safeguard and antidumping processes to advance its liberalization illustrate three key points: (1) The country was able to use the instruments without losing political control. In a period of crisis that threatened congressional approval of critical steps in the liberalization-brought on by currency overvaluation and recession, along with unexpected demands from the United States in the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations-the government applied a number of trade defense measures. Once the problems were addressed with adequate instruments the number of measures dropped drastically. The instruments had not been captured by protection-seeking interests;

Safeguards and Antidumping in Latin American Trade Liberalization
Safeguards and Antidumping in Latin American Trade Liberalization

Author: J. Michael Finger

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005-12-05

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 0821363093

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Until the 1990s, the main users of safeguards and antidumping laws were Australia, Canada, the European Union, and the United States. Since then, many countries have implemented such laws, leading to a proliferation in antidumping and safeguard activity across the world. This timely book documents the political economy surrounding the implementation of these laws in seven Latin American countries and provides details on the institutions created, implementation of the laws, and subsequent activity. It finds that, in the larger political context, antidumping and safeguards are a necessary quid pro quo to certain important sectors to obtain much more liberalized trade policies for the general economy.

Political Economy of Antidumping and Safeguards in Argentina
Political Economy of Antidumping and Safeguards in Argentina

Author: Julio J. Nogu??s

Publisher:

Published: 2012

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

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Beginning in the late 1980s, Argentina implemented a series of reforms that were revolutionary in speed and scope, including trade liberalization. After the implementation of these policies, a record number of antidumping petitions came forward. Under a situation of high inflation, the government reinforced its fiscal and monetary policies by announcing that it would minimize the use of such measures. The flexible disciplines of the existing domestic antidumping regulations facilitated this objective. Later, when the GATT/WTO-sanctioned trade remedies were implemented, the government made a serious attempt to establish discipline by including liberal regulations and creating special institutional arrangements. A presumption built into the construction of the new mechanisms was that adhering to WTO requirements would strengthen the resistance against protection. This presumption turned out to be false. Changing circumstances, including severe peso overvaluation, had significant effects on the number and outcome of antidumping investigations. Regarding safeguards, the government followed the letter and the spirit of the WTO agreement. In relation to the number of petitions, few measures have been implemented. Rejections were based on a concern for consumer costs and on failure of the industry seeking protection to provide a convincing modernization plan. This, plus the fact that some cases were brought to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body, have made safeguards a less attractive instrument for protection-seekers than antidumping. An important positive side of the story is that unlike previous balance of payments adjustments, in spite of the major crisis that followed the recent devaluation, the hard-won liberalization has been maintained.

Antidumping Mechanisms and Safeguards in Peru
Antidumping Mechanisms and Safeguards in Peru

Author: Richard Charles Webb

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 33

ISBN-13:

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"Peru's experience in the application of antidumping and safeguard measures is characterized by a radical change in the philosophy and procedures of trade at the beginning of the 1990s, and by an increasing use of these mechanisms. Trade liberalization was accompanied by the liberalization of foreign currency transactions and of financial and labor markets. Also, the internal revenue administration was modernized, institutions for regulation and competition defense were created, and state enterprises were transferred to private owners or concessionaires. New laws and institutions were created to regulate markets, including INDECOPI, a novel government agency charged with antimonopoly regulation and consumer defense, and which houses the Antidumping and Subsidies Commission. This highly autonomous and technical Commission became the central player in the implementation of WTO rules and procedures for fair trade. Since the reform was launched, a total of 81 trade protection cases have been presented, of which 57 were followed by a dumping investigation. The application of antidumping duties was approved for 29 of the cases investigated. Only two cases of safeguard investigations were recorded, one of which (Chinese textile clothing articles) is still in the negotiation phase. This paper reviews that case experience in detail, concluding that Peru has clearly differentiated between unfair competition and dumping on the one hand, and damage and safeguards on the other, and has applied strict technical criteria to the former and broader political considerations to the latter. Despite recent indications of a partial retreat from those principles, the decade-old reform is expected to last. "-- World Bank web site.

Anti-dumping Policies and Safeguard Measures in the Context of Costa Rica's Economic Liberalization
Anti-dumping Policies and Safeguard Measures in the Context of Costa Rica's Economic Liberalization

Author: Ricardo Monge González

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 56

ISBN-13:

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This paper reviews the most important changes, both in the economy and in the legal and institutional framework, to deal with unfair trade practices that Costa Rica has experienced during its trade liberalization process. It also evaluates whether the sectors that as a result of such a process have been facing increased foreign competition, and may have attempted to use the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules adopted by Costa Rica as a protectionist instrument. Costa Rica's legal framework against unfair trade practices at the multilateral level emerged when the country adopted the WTO rules on antidumping policies and safeguard measures. That has been reinforced at the bilateral level through the subscription of free trade agreements with Central America, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and Canada. So far, only six antidumping petitions and five safeguards have been received by the government. In reviewing these petitions, the government has paid particular attention to the impact of any action on the competitiveness of the domestic market and on the possibility that it would support modernization of the industry. Behind the political acceptance of this disciplined approach lies widespread recognition of the social as well as economic progress that liberalization has supported.

WTO Safeguards and Trade Liberalization
WTO Safeguards and Trade Liberalization

Author: Elías Baracat

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 37

ISBN-13:

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Abstract: The footwear case provides an example of the complexities of World Trade Organization (WTO) rules on the use of safeguards, and of the interaction of multilateral and regional processes of liberalization. As a result both of Argentina's unilateral liberalization and the removal of barriers within Mercosur, imports of footwear increased rapidly. As Mercosur provides no intra-regional safeguard mechanism, the government of Argentina responded by applying import relief and WTO safeguards against third countries. The WTO Dispute Settlement Body addressed these measures and as a consequence, Argentina dismantled most of them, leading to four main conclusions: The jurisprudence of the WTO's Appellate Body has created serious uncertainty as to when a country can use safeguards. This does not contribute to the political balance that has to be maintained when developing countries implement trade liberalization programs. In fact, it detracts from this crucial goal. It is an error to negotiate ambiguous multilateral agreements on the expectation that the WTO Dispute Settlement mechanism will clarify them. An overvalued currency heightened the industry's problems. In the case of footwear, the decline in imports following the recent devaluation was more important than that following the implementation of earlier relief measures. The political economy of liberalization also indicates the need for regional agreements to include adequate transition mechanisms that will facilitate adjustment to free trade and to maintain support for it.

Antidumping Measures: Policy, Law and Practice in India
Antidumping Measures: Policy, Law and Practice in India

Author: Sheela Rai

Publisher: PartridgeIndia

Published: 2014-05

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 148282177X

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Antidumping Measures have been cirticised as anti to competition policy. It is alleged that they are usually abused by small group of producers to protect their monopoly or to protect their cartel prices. India after liberalisation of its economy has become one of the leading users of antidumping measures. Indian use of antidumping measures are being critcised on the same lines on which antidumping measures are generally criticised. Through the anaysis of 150 sample cases the author finds that the criticism is not justified. In addition to it antidumping measures have to be analysed in the general economic policy background of the country. The book attempts to do the same and concludes that although there are very few cases in which antidumping measrues were sought for protectionist purposes, in genreal Indian domestic industry has been vulnerable when it sought the protection of antidumping measures. Antidumping measrues in a way are a tool to regularly check market distortions before these distoritions become serious enough to attract the notice of the competition authority. These measures also help in maintenenace of trade on MFN basis as dumped products as much hurt imports from other sources as they hurt the domestic industry.

The Political Economy of Anti-dumping Protection
The Political Economy of Anti-dumping Protection

Author: Patricia Wruuck

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-02-13

Total Pages: 167

ISBN-13: 9783319112251

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This book deals with anti-dumping measures (AD) and investigates two questions: First, what country characteristics affect AD use and notably, do domestic political institutions have an effect? Second, (how) is the decision to impose a new AD measure affected by anticipation of trading partners’ potential retaliation? This book applies a strategic perspective to AD to address these questions, presenting a game-theoretic model together with an empirical test. The approach sheds light on the dynamics of interaction between trading partners and allows to capture selection processes which underpin the trade restrictions that can actually be observed. The book provides a fresh look on when and how trading powers apply antidumping measures, how this is shaped by strategic interaction and whether institutions do make a difference to the outcome. In a period in which the international trading system has to cope with numerous stresses such as an increased resort to administered protection largely by big emerging economies, this is a timely and important contribution. Dr. Klaus Günter Deutsch, Managing Director, Research, Economic and Industrial Policy, German Federation of Industries This book successfully integrates two research traditions in international politics – the traditional view that looks at domestic factors of anti-dumping policies and the strategic view that conditions the imposition of anti-dumping measures on the likely, retaliatory behavior of the trading partner. The result is an informative and constructive examination of anti-dumping protection and trade wars in the WTO. Prof. Dr. Thomas Bräuninger, Chair of Political Economy, University of Mannheim, Germany "The Political Economy of Anti-Dumping Protection - A Strategic Analysis" is a major contribution to the important and growing field international political economy. Starting with the “traditional” comparative institutional analysis, which focuses on the implications of democratic and non-democratic regimes for using anti-dumping measures in trade politics, the second part applies a strategic perspective on this type of sanctions uncovering the dynamic interactions between a challenging and challenged countries. For all those interested in understanding the logic of sanctions, the role of institutions, and in how to examine the implications of theoretical models for international political economy this book is a “must read". Prof. Dr. Thomas König, Chair of Political Science II, University of Mannheim, Germany.