Dukgeun Ahn

United States – Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Shrimp and Diamond Sawblades from China : never ending zeroing in the WTO?

Despite many legal rulings to clarify the WTO inconsistency of zeroing practices, in practically all aspects of antidumping proceedings, the United States declined to categorically rectify the illegal antidumping duties based on zeroing calculation methods. This dispute is merely example of a number of disputes where the US government had to exhaust the whole process for proper implementation of the WTO rulings under its domestic legal system. The US approach is starkly contrasted with the position taken by the European Union that categorically terminates zeroing practices pursuant to the WTO rulings. While the WTO system indeed recognizes individual Members peculiar regulatory systems and policies during implementation phases, the current situation in which WTO Members must individually resort to the dispute settlement system in order to rectify the US zeroing practices raises a serious concern regarding the legitimacy and integrity of the WTO dispute settlement system. Maybe it is time for WTO Members to agree on better implementation mechanisms before more Members try to develop overly burdensome and complicated regulatory processes for compliance.

United States - Definitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties on certain products from China

The Appellate Body’s ruling in United States – Definitive Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties, filled another important gap in the porous textual languages of the WTO Agreements, rectifying dangerously abusive trade remedy practices in the WTO system. This laudable effort, however, raises a question on whether it is the Appellate Body or the WTO Members that should fill the gap in the WTO system.

China - HP-SSST : last part of growing pains?

In December 2012, Japan requested the establishment of a World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel regarding antidumping (AD) duties that China had imposed on high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes (HP-SSST). The European Union joined as a complainant in June 2013. To some degree, this dispute follows earlier ones involving China, as similar procedural and substantial issues were raised in previous cases. However, this was the first time that the WTO Panel rejected some important claims, only for those decisions to be reversed by the Appellate Body. Now that various rulings have clarified these legal issues, it remains to be seen if HP-SSST represents the last part of growing pains for Chinese authorities to learn about AD legal procedures.

TPP Trade Remedy System: Development or Divergence from the WTO?

The model adopted in the TPP sets forth an important precedent in the subsequent FTA negotiation. This study reviews the main features of the TPP trade remedy chapter and analyzes the implications compared to legal developments in trade remedy rules incorporated in other FTAs involving TPP members. Among many interesting features, it is noted that the TPP abandons a controversial selective safeguard system incorporated in its FTAs since the NAFTA. It becomes a more imminent task to enhance harmonization of trade remedy procedures as well as practices. Mega FTA negotiations in the future should accelerate the regulatory coherence in broader aspects of the global trading system.

US-Carbon Steel (India): Multi-Product Firms and the Cumulation of Products

One of the key findings in this case deals with the appropriate method to determine material injury when imported products are subject to simultaneous anti-dumping and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations. Along with addressing a number of legal issues concerning CVD investigations, the Appellate Body clarified restrictions on cross-cumulation of injury, essentially prohibiting the current US practice, and implicitly raising the burden of proof for parallel claims of dumping and subsidies. This decision is justified on economic grounds, where cumulation imposes a counterfactual scenario against which marginal damages of dumping and subsidies by each country cannot be properly evaluated. However, what the legal rulings by the Appellate Body did not recognize is the economic reality that many like products produced by the firms alleged to have received subsidies were selectively absent from the investigation, which more generally complicates the assessment of injury in dumping and subsidy cases.

The Legal and Economic Analysis of the WTO/FTA System

The Legal and Economic Analysis of the WTO/FTA System presents a collation of interdisciplinary studies covering a wide range of issues from WTO dispute settlement issues to trade remedy systems and FTA negotiations. The author applies legal as well as economic rationales and methods to analyze core issues in the world trading system and in doing so, sheds an interesting light on various trade issues. The interdisciplinary analysis on WTO and FTA issues provides a unique opportunity to reconsider many conventional trade topics. For instance, the author shows that third country dumping rarely used in the GATT/WTO system may have a new role with economic incentives in the context of FTAs.

China - HP-SSST: Last Part of Growing Pains?

In December 2012 Japan requested the establishment of a World Trade Organization (WTO) Panel regarding AD duties that China had imposed on high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes (HP-SSST). The European Union joined as a complainant in June 2013. To some degree, this dispute follows earlier ones involving China, as similar procedural and substantial issues were raised in previous cases. However, this is the first time that the WTO Panel rejected some important claims, only for those decisions to be reversed by the Appellate Body. Now that various rulings have clarified these legal issues, it remains to be seen if HP-SSST represents the last part of growing pains for Chinese authorities to learn about AD legal procedures.

An analysis of the multiplicity of an international standard: the case of ISO pallet sizes

Pallets are platforms used for materials handling in logistics. Standards setting at the international level, in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), created six pallet sizes (ISO 6780). The multiplicity of pallet sizes in one standard reflects a failure of standards setting. The focus of this study is on the international standardisation of pallet sizes in the ISO. This paper traces the process of standards setting in the ISO and examines the internal dynamics between major actors in the ISO Technical Committee to find out why and how multiple pallet sizes were adopted. In addition, this study analyses why different outcomes were derived in comparison with ISO containers, which is assessed as an international standard that has well-harmonised and modularised dimensions. This study contributes to the understanding of the complexities in standards setting at the international level through the lens of competition and cooperation among major countries participating in the ISO. It also provides implications for contemporary standardisation in the logistics systems and other industries.

US-Countervailing Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India: To Cumulate or Not Cumulate Products

One of the key findings in this case deals with the appropriate method to determine material injury when imported products are subject to simultaneous anti-dumping and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations. Along with addressing a number of legal issues concerning CVD investigations, the Appellate Body clarified restrictions on cross-cumulation of injury, essentially prohibiting the current US practice, and implicitly raising the burden of proof for parallel claims of dumping and subsidies. This decision is justified on economic grounds, where cumulation imposes a counterfactual scenario against which marginal damages of dumping and subsidies by each country cannot be properly evaluated. However, what the legal rulings by the Appellate Body did not recognize is the economic reality that many like products produced by the firms alleged to have received subsidies were selectively absent from the investigation, which more generally complicates the assessment of injury in dumping and subsidy cases.

The Stalemate of the Doha Development Agenda Negotiation and Some Policy Implications for Its Completion

1. Background. 2. Factors for the Stalemate of the DDA Negotiation. 3. Some Policy Implication for the Completion of the DDA Negotiation.