EU trade policy
Ten years of anti-dumping in the EU: economic and political targeting
The relation between EC anti-dumping actions and the emergence of new competitors
Authors:
L. Davis
Publisher:
European centre for international political economy, 2009
Anti-dumping is at the heart of EU trade policy. EC anti-dumping actions broadly follow developments in global markets, particularly the emergence of new competitors. This paper takes an in-depth look at the past ten years of anti-dumping usage in the EU.
The paper indicates that EC anti-dumping duties usually far exceed bound tariff levels, making them a tool for any European industry wanting to prevent new entrants or restructure behind a wall of protectionism. Furthermore, in the wake of the financial crisis, the paper anticipates that the economic and political popularity of anti-dumping is likely to increase.
On the other hand, the report finds that if the benefits of a fair trading environment are to be realised, targeting legitimate market competitors from abroad through anti-dumping protectionism is not the solution. In addition, it suggests that the current economic climate underlines that the potential for abuse of anti-dumping be fully acknowledged. Consequently, it is a good time for reforming anti-dumping assessments and procedures, to make it harder for anti-dumping legislation to be abused.
Lastly, the paper identifies five empirical tendencies in EC practices regarding anti-dumping:
- the main targets of investigations and measures are exporters in emerging markets, particularly in Asia
- targeted products are concentrated in sectors where European comparative advantage is declining, i.e. raw materials, industrial input goods and textiles
- dumping margins reflect this pattern, being particularly high in the chemicals and steel sectors
- duty levels are significantly higher than bound tariffs, particularly in the higher-end technology sector
- once an anti-dumping investigation has been initiated, definitive measures are the most likely outcome
