Research on Subsidies and Anti-Dumping Laws in International Commodity Trade

Author: Gan Ying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: This paper studies the legal issues of subsidies and countervailing measures in international trade in goods, aiming to explore how major substantive rules in the field of subsidies and countervailing measures can achieve sound operation under the guidance of the spirit of "fairness" and "freedom," and achieve a comprehensive balance beneficial to the healthy and stable development of the global economy and society. At the same time, it discusses the legal and institutional development of subsidies and countervailing measures in China. This paper is divided into three parts: Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion, with the Main Body consisting of seven chapters.
Chapter 1: Introduction to Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. This chapter first introduces and analyzes the debates in the field of economics regarding subsidies and countervailing measures and their impact on relevant laws. Then, it reviews the evolution of influential subsidies and countervailing rules in the world today (the subsidies and countervailing measures rules of GATT/WTO and the countervailing duty laws of the United States and the European Community).
Chapter 2: The Definition of "Subsidy" and the Specificity Standard. This chapter first refines the three elements of the subsidy definition (the "subsidy provider," "financial assistance," and "granting a benefit") according to the original text of the SCM Agreement for interpretation, and conducts empirical analysis in combination with representative cases of the DSB. Then, it discusses the specificity standard.
Chapter 3: Legal Classification of Subsidies. This chapter discusses the three types of subsidies—"prohibited subsidies," " actionable subsidies," and "non-actionable subsidies"—on the basis of the "trichotomy" and attempts to clarify the reasonable and insufficient aspects of current rules and practices in maintaining and promoting fair and free trade. Additionally, this chapter discusses the distinctive "upstream subsidy" rule in the U.S. countervailing duty law.
Chapter 4: Key Issues in Countervailing Rules—Subsidy Damage and the Causal Relationship Between Subsidies and Damage. This chapter first analyzes the key concepts of "damage" ("like products," "domestic industry"), then discusses the three forms of "damage" and the factors to consider, followed by the cumulative assessment of "damage." Finally, it discusses the causal relationship between subsidies and damage, examining the relevant rules of the SCM Agreement and the practices of the United States and the European Community, and presents the author's views and suggestions.
Chapter 5: Exploring How Countervailing Duty Laws Can Be Implemented More Fairly and Reasonably from the Perspectives of Law and Economics. This chapter first analyzes the "economic distortion theory" reflected in the U.S. countervailing duty law, then analyzes the basic ideas of theist "rights model" and its critique of the "economic distortion theory," and finally provides an evaluation.
Chapter 6: Discussing Special Rules for Developing Countries, the Application of Countervailing Duty Laws Under "Transitional Economy" and "Privatization" Conditions in the Field of Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. These are very important for establishing a subsidy and countervailing legal system suitable for China's specific conditions.
Chapter 7: Exploring How to Establish a Subsidy and Countervailing System Suitable for China's Specific Conditions. This chapter first discusses China's subsidy issues and the strategies it should adopt under the current international countervailing measures situation. Then, it explores how China should legislate and adjudicate countervailing measures when facing subsidies from other countries, and presents the author's suggestions.