Trade remedies |
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Trade Remedies: trade remedies refer to import measures, usually in the form of additional duties, which may be implemented by governments under a specific situation defined under the relevant WTO Agreements. More specifically, these measure are: "anti-dumping" measures (see the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994), "countervailing duties" (see the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures) and "safeguard measures" (the Agreement on Safeguards). When trade remedy measures are applied, governments could revert to non-preferential origin requirements, leading to the application of MFN tariff rates in addition to the relevant trade remedy duties."
Anti-dumping measures: If a company exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own home market, it is said to be “dumping” the product. The WTO Agreement does not regulate the actions of companies engaged in “dumping”. Its focus is on how governments can or cannot react to dumping — it disciplines anti-dumping actions, and it is often called the “anti-dumping Agreement”. When anti-dumping measures are applied, governments could revert to non-preferential origin requirements, leading to the application of MFN tariff rates in addition to the relevant trade remedy duties (see "trade remedies").
Countervailing duties: The WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures disciplines the use of subsidies, and it regulates the actions countries can take to counter the effects of subsidies. Under the agreement, a country can use the WTO’s dispute-settlement procedure to seek the withdrawal of the subsidy or the removal of its adverse effects. Or the country can launch its own investigation and ultimately charge extra import duties (“countervailing duties”) on subsidized imports that are found to be hurting domestic producers. When countervailing duties are applied, governments could revert to non-preferential origin requirements, leading to the application of MFN tariff rates in addition to the relevant trade remedy duties (see "trade remedies").
Safeguard measures: A WTO member may take a “safeguard” action (i.e., restrict imports of a product temporarily) to protect a specific domestic industry from an increase in imports of any product which is causing, or which is threatening to cause, serious injury to the industry. The WTO Safeguards Agreement contains disciplines and procedures for the application of such safeguard measures. When safeguard measures are applied, governments could revert to non-preferential origin requirements, leading to the application of MFN tariff rates in addition to the relevant trade remedy duties (see "trade remedies").
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