WTO: Antidumping Issues in the Doha Development Agenda


 

Publication Date: May 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Trade

Type:

Abstract:

At the November 2001 Ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Doha, Qatar, WTO member countries launched a new round of trade talks known as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). One of the negotiating objectives called for "clarifying and improving disciplines" under the WTO Antidumping and Subsidies Agreements. Since antidumping is the most frequently used trade remedy action worldwide, most of the discussion focused on changing ways that WTO members administer antidumping (AD) actions.

WTO negotiations in the DDA directly involve Congress since any trade agreement made by the United States must be implemented by legislation. In addition, Congress has an important oversight role in trade negotiations as provided in legislation granting presidential Trade Promotion Authority in the Trade Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-210).

The frequent use of antidumping actions by the United States and other developed nations has come under criticism by other WTO members as being protectionist. Many Members of Congress defend the use of U.S. antidumping actions brought as necessary to protect U.S. firms and workers from unfair competition. However, because the United States is also a leading target of antidumping actions by other countries, some U.S. export-oriented firms may support changes to the Antidumping Agreement.

The positions of major players in trade remedy talks are well-documented by position papers circulated through the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules. At the December 2005 WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong, rules negotiators were called upon to further "intensify and accelerate the negotiating process."

Most of the proposals on trade remedies focus on changing the Antidumping Agreement, currently a somewhat ambiguous document that gives broad guidelines for conducting AD investigations, in order to provide more specific definitions and stricter procedures. The goal of many of the WTO members seems to be to lower the level of antidumping duties provided per investigation and/or to provide more restrictions on the ability of officials to grant relief to domestic industries. The gap between the U.S. position, where there is strong support in Congress to preserve the rights of WTO members to provide AD relief to domestic industries, and the viewpoints of other countries appears to be wide and may be difficult to narrow, but some countries see revision of the Antidumping Agreement and other WTO disciplines on trade remedies as a "make or break" issue if the DDA is to succeed.

This report examines antidumping issues in DDA negotiations by analyzing the issue in three parts. The first provides background information and contextual analysis for understanding why the issue is so controversial. The second section focuses on how antidumping issues fit into the DDA, and the third section provides a more specific overview of major reform proposals that are being considered. This report will be updated as events warrant.