Modernization of EU anti-dumping instruments

On April 10th, 2013 the European Commission submitted a proposal, no. 2013/0103 (COD), to modify the set of EU rules to combat unfair competition from dumping imports and imports of subsidized products.

According to Council Regulation (EC) no. 1225/2009 protecting against dumping imports from countries which are not members of the European Community, dumping is understood to be the import of a product, the export price of which is lower than the normal price in the country from which the product is exported.

The proposed changes will modify the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy instruments so that they may better protect trade in the EU against unfair dumping practices of companies from countries outside the EU and the risk of retaliatory measures from such enterprises. Anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures affect approximately 0.25% of all imports into the EU and are often the only way in which the EU can protect its manufacturing sectors from damages caused by unfair dumping practices by companies from non-EU countries.

The legislative proposal of the Commission is intended to achieve the following goals:

– Improve predictability for importers by having the Commission inform them of all temporary anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures two weeks before such duties take effect. This will make business planning easier for importers.
– Protect EU manufacturing sectors by allowing the Commission to launch investigations at its own initiative, without needing to wait for an official request. This will reduce the risk of retaliatory measures by importers against companies which would otherwise have to file to launch such investigations.
– Discourage other business partners from participating in unfair dumping practices by placing tariffs on imports from countries which use unfair subsidies and create structural distortions in their raw materials markets.

The Commission’s proposal also includes an additional non-legislative proposal intended to facilitate cooperation with companies and professional associations involved in anti-dumping investigations. The Commission wants to achieve this by instituting longer deadlines in the course of investigations, improving the monitoring of trade flows, enabling its own launch of investigations to ensure faster response to illegal circumvention of current measures, etc.

The Commission proposal must first be approved by the Council and European Parliament, and is not expected to take legal effect until 2014.

For more information, please contact our office’s partner, Mgr. Jiří Kučera, e-mail: jkucera@kuceralegal.cz ; tel.: +420604242241.