Anti-Dumping & Counterveiling Duties

Unfair trade practices usually consist of dumping, or paying illegal subsidies. Dumping exists when an exporter in a third country sells particular goods on the export market more cheaply than on its domestic market.

Trade sanctions in the form of extra, targeted, duties (anti-dumping duties) or insistence upon importers agreeing a certain level of prices (price undertakings) can be applied to imports which cause significant economic difficulties, because of unfair trade practices.  Sanctions are usually introduced after considering the request made by producers of a particular product about unfair competition. The measures that are allowed to taken have to be in accordance with the criteria stipulated in the WTO Agreement.

We can advise those seeking to lodge an anti-dumping duty complaint; and those defending such as action. We can also make an application for reimbursement of the duties paid by an importer when the dumping margin on which the goods duties have been calculated has been reduced or eliminated.

The tariff classification of the goods will determine whether anti-dumping duty applies to the goods or not. As such, a review of tariff classification legislation and the form in which the goods are imported could lead to opportunities for avoiding anti-dumping duty.

Whether the goods originate in the country subject to anti-dumping duty will depend on the application of non-preferential origin criteria, again offering scope for careful advance planning. We can advise on the pitfalls of screwdriver assembly plants and assess the scope for acceptable alternatives.