Some Issues in the Determination of Dumping and Injury under China's Antidumping Regulations - with Focus on the Compliance with the WTO Provisions

Some Issues in the Determination of Dumping and Injury under China's Antidumping Regulations - with Focus on the Compliance with the WTO Provisions

Prior to the WTO accession, when China felt that imports were threatening domestic industries, it protected local enterprises by slapping sky-high. tariffs. Now, as a WTO member, China must implement all tariff-cutting commitments and progressively eliminate non-tariff trade barriers. It is likely that China will more frequently resort to legalized economic measures allowed under WTO regime to restrain imports and protect the interests of domestic industries. Till now, China's efforts in import relief measures mostly focus on antidumping. The number of antidumping measures that China undertakes is increasing very fast. The Chinese government seems to have drafted its Antidumping Regulations with the intent of following the international standards as encompassed within the WTO Antidumping Agreement. However it is insufficient to bring the PRC Antidumping Regulations into compliance with the WTO Antidumping Agreement just on its face. WTO-consistency has to be secured substantially through its actual implementation. This paper examines two issues emerged in the Chinese implementation of its Antidumping Regulations on which some WTO members expressed concerns. The issues are (1) China's calculation of normal value in antidumping investigations; and (2) the factors that Chinese authorities examine in conducting an injury analysis. The analysis is carried out through case studies of the Chinese antidumping measures to date. The purpose is to examine whether these two aspects in the Chinese practices are in compliance with the standards of the WTO Antidumping Agreement.