Overall, it seems as if the WTO antidumping agreements need some refinement. There is still much confusion as to whether countries are actually using its standards or not in their dumping investigations. There are many theoretical problems with some antidumping procedures. Allegations of unfair investigations abound. The WTO’s Antidumping Agreement was made to be very complex to help to deal with these problems, it may be too opaque to be able to determine the validity of some antidumping measures. Tariffs and countervailing duties can hurt the domestic countries consumers and can have large negative effects on the small trading partners. This is especially problematic for developing countries that need access to industrialized markets to ensure they can obtain a basis for long-term economic stability and growth and climb out of poverty. The industrialized nations should want this to occur so they don’t have to perpetually give handouts to these developing nations.
No one is suggesting that the US or any other industrialized nation let its industries be unfairly put out of business, if that is truly the case at hand. Still, as the Seattle Round demonstrates, the WTO’s antidumping laws seem to have satisfied too few countries. Given the spirit of its trade barrier reduction goals, the WTO should make consistency one of its main policy making goals.
Bibliography
World Trade Organization Webpage-mainpage
http://www.wto.org/
World Trade Organization webpage – Legal Texts: The WTO Agreements, A Summary
http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/ursum_e.htm#fAgreement
Dumler, Christopher M. “Anti-dumping Laws Trash Supercomputer Competition.” Cato Briefing Papers. 14 Oct. 1997.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/briefs/bp-032.html.
Griswold, Daniel T. “Industry Sets Steel Trap for U.S. Economy.” Cato
Center for Trade Policy Studies Articles. 23 October 1998.
http://www.freetrade.org/pubs/articles/dg- steel.html.
Hindley, Brian and Patrick A. Messerlin. 29 Nov. 1999. http://www.aei.org/bs/bs7306.htm.
“Japan Wants New Trade Talk.” Reuters. 29 Oct. 1999.
http://cnnfn.com/1999/11/29/worldbiz/wires/japan_wto_wg/.
Raghavan, Chakravarthi. “Call for Revision of Anti-dumping, Subsidy Rules. ” Third World Network.
http://www.southside.org.sg/souths/twn/title/dump-cn.htm.