University of Macau / Faculty of Law

As medidas antidumping são uma exceção ao livre comércio e como tal deveriam ser usadas com restrição. No entanto, desde o GATT 1947 há preocupação com o uso abusivo de tais medidas, podendo ser o mecanismo utilizado não apenas para possibilitar a recuperação da indústria doméstica prejudicada pelas importações objeto de dumping, objetivo do Acordo Antidumping (AAD), mas com o fim de proteger a indústria nacional da concorrência estrangeira. Desta forma, o objetivo do presente trabalho é apresentar as principais características do AAD firmado ao final da Rodada Uruguai que culminou na constituição da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC), incluindo seus antecedentes históricos e a possibilidade de aplicação discricionária, demonstrando como uma norma surgida no plano internacional em decorrência de um acordo multilateral vem sendo utilizada pelo Brasil, com a finalidade de se demonstrar a possibilidade de uso das medidas antidumping como barreira à entrada no mercado brasileiro. Confirmada a possibilidade de uso abusivo desse instrumento de defesa comercial, ainda que no plano teórico, uma vez que não é possível analisar os efeitos reais das medidas aplicadas, serão apresentadas as formas de contrabalanço ao protecionismo atualmente existentes no próprio AAD e sua incorporação e utilização pelo Brasil bem como a possibilidade de questionamento de tais medidas como práticas anticompetitivas com fundamento na legislação antitruste perante as autoridades de defesa da concorrência. Serão ainda analisadas outras possibilidades de contrabalanço ao uso exacerbado das medidas antidumping em debate e viabilidade das mesmas no cenário atual em que se verifica, de um lado, o aumento de uso de tais medidas pelos países Membros da OMC, destacando-se o Brasil e, de outro lado, impasse nas negociações multilaterais, cabendo aos Membros tomarem decisões unilaterais sobre a aplicação de tais medidas, seu grau de intensidade e forma de aplicação a depender da proteção que se pretende garantir à indústria nacional. / Antidumping measures are an exception to the free trade and as such they should be used with restrictions. However, since GATT 1947 there is a concern regarding the abuse in the use of such measures, being possible the use of the instrument not only to make possible the recovery of the domestic industry that was injured by the dumped imports, purpose of the Antidumping Agreement (ADA), but also with the purpose of protecting the domestic industry of the foreign competition. Thus, the purpose of this Masters Thesis is to present the main aspects of the ADA signed as a result of the Uruguay Round, that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including its historical background and the possibility of discretionary application, being demonstrated how a rule emerged in an international level as part of a multilateral agreement has been used by Brazil. The purpose is to demonstrate the possibility of the use of the antidumping measures as a barrier to entry in the Brazilian market. Being confirmed the possibility of the abusive use of this trade defense instrument, even if only in theory, since it is not possible to analyze the actual impacts of the applied measures, it will be present the possibilities to counterbalance the protectionism that are established in the ADA, namely the public interest clause and the lesser duty rule, and their adoption and use by Brazil and possibility of challenging such measures as anticompetitive practices based on the antitrust law before the Brazilian Antitrust Authority. Additional possibilities under debate and their feasibility to counterbalance the abuse in the use of the antidumping measures will also be analyzed in the actual scenario where, on one hand, there is the increase of such measures by WTO Members in general and mainly Brazil and, on the other hand, there is an impasse in the multilateral negotiations. The Members will have to unilaterally decide on the implementation of such measures, the level of its intensity and form of application depending on the intended protection to ensure the domestic industry.

As medidas antidumping são uma exceção ao livre comércio e como tal deveriam ser usadas com restrição. No entanto, desde o GATT 1947 há preocupação com o uso abusivo de tais medidas, podendo ser o mecanismo utilizado não apenas para possibilitar a recuperação da indústria doméstica prejudicada pelas importações objeto de dumping, objetivo do Acordo Antidumping (AAD), mas com o fim de proteger a indústria nacional da concorrência estrangeira. Desta forma, o objetivo do presente trabalho é apresentar as principais características do AAD firmado ao final da Rodada Uruguai que culminou na constituição da Organização Mundial do Comércio (OMC), incluindo seus antecedentes históricos e a possibilidade de aplicação discricionária, demonstrando como uma norma surgida no plano internacional em decorrência de um acordo multilateral vem sendo utilizada pelo Brasil, com a finalidade de se demonstrar a possibilidade de uso das medidas antidumping como barreira à entrada no mercado brasileiro. Confirmada a possibilidade de uso abusivo desse instrumento de defesa comercial, ainda que no plano teórico, uma vez que não é possível analisar os efeitos reais das medidas aplicadas, serão apresentadas as formas de contrabalanço ao protecionismo atualmente existentes no próprio AAD e sua incorporação e utilização pelo Brasil bem como a possibilidade de questionamento de tais medidas como práticas anticompetitivas com fundamento na legislação antitruste perante as autoridades de defesa da concorrência. Serão ainda analisadas outras possibilidades de contrabalanço ao uso exacerbado das medidas antidumping em debate e viabilidade das mesmas no cenário atual em que se verifica, de um lado, o aumento de uso de tais medidas pelos países Membros da OMC, destacando-se o Brasil e, de outro lado, impasse nas negociações multilaterais, cabendo aos Membros tomarem decisões unilaterais sobre a aplicação de tais medidas, seu grau de intensidade e forma de aplicação a depender da proteção que se pretende garantir à indústria nacional. / Antidumping measures are an exception to the free trade and as such they should be used with restrictions. However, since GATT 1947 there is a concern regarding the abuse in the use of such measures, being possible the use of the instrument not only to make possible the recovery of the domestic industry that was injured by the dumped imports, purpose of the Antidumping Agreement (ADA), but also with the purpose of protecting the domestic industry of the foreign competition. Thus, the purpose of this Masters Thesis is to present the main aspects of the ADA signed as a result of the Uruguay Round, that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including its historical background and the possibility of discretionary application, being demonstrated how a rule emerged in an international level as part of a multilateral agreement has been used by Brazil. The purpose is to demonstrate the possibility of the use of the antidumping measures as a barrier to entry in the Brazilian market. Being confirmed the possibility of the abusive use of this trade defense instrument, even if only in theory, since it is not possible to analyze the actual impacts of the applied measures, it will be present the possibilities to counterbalance the protectionism that are established in the ADA, namely the public interest clause and the lesser duty rule, and their adoption and use by Brazil and possibility of challenging such measures as anticompetitive practices based on the antitrust law before the Brazilian Antitrust Authority. Additional possibilities under debate and their feasibility to counterbalance the abuse in the use of the antidumping measures will also be analyzed in the actual scenario where, on one hand, there is the increase of such measures by WTO Members in general and mainly Brazil and, on the other hand, there is an impasse in the multilateral negotiations. The Members will have to unilaterally decide on the implementation of such measures, the level of its intensity and form of application depending on the intended protection to ensure the domestic industry.

Depuis l'adoption de sa première législation antidumping en 1989, la Turquie est entrée dans le groupe des pays qui sont les utilisateurs les plus fréquents des mesures antidumping. Pourtant, le dispositif antidumping du pays a besoin d'une réforme importante. L'Accord antidumping de l'OMC a force de loi en droit turc. De plus, il y a une législation antidumping nationale qui est composée d'une loi, d'un décret et d'un règlement. Toutefois, il n'y a aucune exigence juridique d'avoir une loi ou un décret dans la législation antidumping. Ainsi, nous proposons d'abroger la Loi et le Décret antidumping et de limiter la base juridique des procédures antidumping au Règlement antidumping. Ceci donnera aux autorités une flexibilité par rapport à la réalisation des amendements dont il y aura besoin à l'avenir, et éliminera le grand nombre de chevauchements qu'il y a dans la Législation actuelle. Cette dernière contient des dispositions incompatibles avec l'Accord antidumping, celles-ci doivent être modifiées. Il y a également des aspects où les règles écrites sont compatibles avec l'Accord antidumping, mais où la pratique des autorités ne suit pas ces règles. Ce genre de pratique ne doit pas être répété. Nous estimons que la place et la structure de l'autorité turque en matière d'antidumping sont loin d'être idéales et ne répondent pas aux besoins des industries nationales. A notre avis, il faut soit organiser cette autorité comme un organisme gouvernemental indépendant soit la sortir du Ministère de l'économie et l'attacher à l'Autorité de la concurrence soit l'organiser, avec les autres départements du Ministère s'occupant des mesures correctives commerciales, comme une nouvelle direction générale au Ministère. La révision judiciaire des constatations de l'autorité d'enquête n'est pas efficace en Turquie. Il faut établir un tribunal spécialisé pour cette révision et donner, aux juges fonctionnant dans ce tribunal, la formation nécessaire pour assurer une révision judiciaire efficace. / Since the adoption of its first anti-dumping legislation in 1989, Turkey made its way into the list of countries that are the most active users of anti-dumping measures. However, the country's anti­dumping system needs a comprehensive reform. The WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement has the force of law under Turkish law. Further, there is national anti-dumping legislation consisting of a law, a decree and a regulation. Yet, there is no legal requirement that necessitates the inclusion of a law or decree in the anti-dumping legislation. Therefore, we propose to repeal the Anti-Dumping Law and Decree and to limit the legal basis for anti-dumping proceedings to the Anti-Dumping Regulation. This will provide the authorities with the flexibility to make the amendments that will be needed in future, and will eliminate the man y instances of overlap among the three elements of the current legislation. The current legislation contains certain provisions that are inconsistent with the Anti­Dumping Agreement and they need to be modified. There are also aspects where the written rules are compatible with WTO principles but the authorities' practice does not follow such rules. This type o1 practice should not be repeated. We argue that the place and structure of the Turkish anti-dumping authority is far from ideal and does not respond to the needs of national industries. In our view, the authority should be detached from the Ministry of Economy and organized as an independent government agency, or should be attached to the Competition Authority, or should be reorganized, together with other departments that also deal with trade remedies, as a new directorate general within the Ministry of Economy. Judicial review of the determinations of the investigating authority is not effective. We propose to establish a specialized court for this review and to provide the judges who will serve in this court with the necessary training in order to ensure effective judicial review.

Apesar de o fluxo de comércio afetado por medidas antidumping não chegar nem a 1% do comércio global, aproximadamente 20% das disputas na OMC são sobre antidumping. A OMC é um órgão intergovernamental e seu sistema de solução de controvérsias tem por objetivo analisar se as medidas adotadas por seus Membros estão em conformidade com os compromissos assumidos nos acordos abrangidos. O Acordo Antidumping da OMC (ADA) estabelece os procedimentos investigatórios a serem seguidos por seus Membros para combater o dumping que comprovadamente causa dano à indústria doméstica. O objetivo é evitar que sejam adotadas medidas em circunstâncias descabidas, com o mero intuito protecionista de criar barreiras ao comércio. O dumping é uma prática do setor privado e não dos governos. Portanto, não é o dumping que é questionado perante a OMC, e sim a obediência pela autoridade investigadora dos procedimentos investigatórios estabelecidos no ADA. Tanto os órgãos da Administração Pública como a OMC exercem uma função fundamental para que o devido processo legal seja observado em matéria antidumping. A função legislativa é criar as normas que regularão o procedimento, a função executiva é aplicar/monitorar o procedimento, e a função judiciária é verificar se o procedimento tem sido aplicado corretamente. À luz dessas considerações, a tese a ser defendida é que: (i) diante das limitações trazidas aos painéis e ao Órgão de Apelação pelo Artigo 17.6 do ADA, a função do sistema de solução de controvérsias da OMC e dos judiciários nacionais, em matéria antidumping, muito se assemelham: ambos buscam controlar a discricionariedade da autoridade investigadora; (ii) mais efetivo para os importadores e/ou exportadores que pretendem questionar uma medida antidumping seria buscar inicialmente uma solução mediante recurso ao judiciário do país importador. O recurso ao sistema da OMC, além de depender do interesse do governo e ser oneroso, apresenta dificuldades no momento de implementação das recomendações; (iii) entretanto, tendo em vista o despreparo do Judiciário Brasileiro, sugerimos a criação de cortes especializadas; (iv) o recurso ao Judiciário, mesmo perante cortes especializadas, não resolveria os problemas do processo antidumping apontados ao longo da tese. Para sanar, fazemos algumas outras sugestões de mudanças estruturais para aplicação: (a) no âmbito da OMC, com vistas a delimitar a atuação do Órgão de Apelação e garantir segurança jurídica aos Membros; e (b) no âmbito brasileiro, com vistas a modificar a dinâmica das investigações antidumping conduzidas pela autoridade administrativa e assegurar o cumprimento de sua real finalidade. / Despite the fact that the flow of trade affected by anti-dumping measures does not reach 1% of global trade, approximately 20% of the disputes at the WTO are about these measures. The WTO is an intergovernmental organization and its dispute settlement system has the objective of analyzing if the measures adopted by its Members are in accordance with the commitments accepted in the covered agreements. The WTOs Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA) sets forth the investigation proceedings to be followed by its Members in order to deal with dumping proven to have caused damage to domestic industry. The aim is to avoid that measures are taken under inappropriate circumstances, with the mere protectionist purpose of creating trade barriers. Dumping is a private practice, and not a governmental one. Thus, it is not the practice of dumping itself that is questioned before the WTO, but the obedience by the investigating authority of the proceedings established in the ADA. The Public Administration organs and the WTO are equally responsible by a fundamental role of guaranteeing that the due process of law is respected in the matter of anti-dumping measures. The legislative duty is to create rules that will govern the proceedings, the executive duty is to apply/monitor the proceedings and the judiciary duty is to verify if the proceedings have been applied correctly. In light of these aspects, the thesis to be defended is: (i) considering the limitations to panels and the Appellate Body by Article 17.6 of the ADA, the duties of the WTOs dispute settlement system and the national judiciaries, in terms of anti-dumping, are similar: both try to control the discretion of the investigating authority; (ii) it would be more effective to importers and/or exporters who want to challenge an anti-dumping measure to resort initially to the judiciary system of the importer country. The resort to the WTO system, besides depending on the government`s political interest and being expensive, has difficulties when it comes to implement the recommendations; (iii) in spite of that, considering the lack of preparation of the Brazilian Judiciary, it is suggested the creation of specialized courts; (iv) the resort to the Judiciary, even before specialized courts, would not solve the problems of the anti-dumping process pointed out throughout this thesis. To tackle these problems, we make some other suggestions of structural nature: (a) in what concerns the WTO, aiming at limiting the Appellate Body`s role and guaranteeing legal security to its Members; (b) in what concerns Brazil, aiming at changing the dynamics of the anti-dumping investigations conducted by the administrative authority and securing the fulfillment of its real purpose.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:34:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2014-08-05 / Antidumping measures are an important tool of the state in the strategy of domestic industry protection, aimed at developing the country. Currently, it s the main mechanism used by the Member States of the WTO to curb the entry of foreign products in the domestic market. Brazil has been one of the biggest users. Looking at the history and at the development strategy of the currently developed countries, it becomes clear certain pattern, consisting of activists industrial, commercial and technological policies, such as infant industry protection, tariff protection, and a host direct and indirect intervention in the economy. Moreover, these countries achieved development, adopted in his period of catching-up, protectionist policies, in order to benefit its domestic industry by mainly tariff protection, from advocating trade liberalization only after reaching the technological frontier and have industries reached their international competitiveness. These strategies must be observed by countries that today seek to achieve development, such as Brazil. Economic liberalism eventually leading Latin American economies to specialization. That countries producing and exporting primary products and importing manufactured goods from abroad. The consequences of adopting such a policy are reflected even today, even after industrialization through import substitution occurred during the last century, the development has not been achieved. The movement of international trade liberalization and development of the multilateral system of international trade meant that tariff barriers fall gradually in trade relations among the countries participating in the GATT and especially after the agreement that gave rise to the WTO. Brazil, on account of these trade agreements, was forced to lay aside the use of tariff protection, passing in the last decade, the use of trade defense mechanisms, especially the anti-dumping measures, the greater ease in application, and little international effect, disputes and retaliation. The entry into force of the a new Decree Antidumping modernized Brazilian antidumping proceeding, leaving him, in theory, more quickly in the investigation of dumping, and more effective in the application or otherwise of measures; and as more inclusive and detailed has given greater legal predictability for the private sector. / As medidas antidumping constituem uma importante ferramenta do Estado na proteção estratégica da indústria doméstica, visando o desenvolvimento do país. Atualmente, são o principal mecanismo utilizado pelos Estados-Membros da OMC para conter a entrada de produtos estrangeiros no mercado doméstico. O Brasil tem sido um dos maiores utilizadores. Analisando a história e a estratégia de desenvolvimento dos países atualmente desenvolvidos, evidencia-se certo padrão, que consiste em políticas industriais, comerciais e tecnológicas ativistas, como a proteção à indústria nascente, proteção tarifária, e uma série intervenções diretas e indiretas na economia. Aliás, estes países que atingiram o desenvolvimento, adotaram em seu período de catching-up, políticas protecionistas, visando beneficiar sua indústria doméstica por meio, principalmente, da proteção tarifária, passando a defender a liberalização comercial apenas após o alcance da fronteira tecnológica e terem suas indústrias atingido competitividade internacional. Essas estratégias devem ser observadas pelos países que hoje buscam alcançar o desenvolvimento, como o Brasil. O liberalismo econômico acabou levando as economias latino-americanas à especialização produtiva. Esses países produziam e exportavam produtos primários, e importavam produtos industrializados do exterior. As consequências da adoção de tal política se refletem até hoje, e mesmo após a industrialização por substituição de importações ocorrida durante o século passado, não se alcançou o desenvolvimento. O movimento de liberalização do comércio internacional e o desenvolvimento do sistema multilateral de comércio internacional fizeram com que as barreiras tarifárias caíssem gradualmente nas relações comerciais dentre os países participantes do GATT e, sobretudo, após o acordo que deu origem à OMC. O Brasil, por conta desses acordos comerciais, foi forçado a deixar de lado a utilização da proteção tarifária, passando, na última década, a utilizar os mecanismos de defesa comercial, sobretudo, as medidas antidumping, pela maior facilidade na aplicação, e pouca repercussão internacional, disputas e retaliações. A entrada em vigor do Novo Decreto Antidumping modernizou o procedimento antidumping brasileiro, deixando-o, em tese, mais célere nas investigações de dumping, e mais eficaz na decisão de aplicação ou não de medidas; e por ser mais amplo e detalhado deu maior previsibilidade jurídica para o setor privado.

University of Macau / Faculty of Law

Apesar de o fluxo de comércio afetado por medidas antidumping não chegar nem a 1% do comércio global, aproximadamente 20% das disputas na OMC são sobre antidumping. A OMC é um órgão intergovernamental e seu sistema de solução de controvérsias tem por objetivo analisar se as medidas adotadas por seus Membros estão em conformidade com os compromissos assumidos nos acordos abrangidos. O Acordo Antidumping da OMC (ADA) estabelece os procedimentos investigatórios a serem seguidos por seus Membros para combater o dumping que comprovadamente causa dano à indústria doméstica. O objetivo é evitar que sejam adotadas medidas em circunstâncias descabidas, com o mero intuito protecionista de criar barreiras ao comércio. O dumping é uma prática do setor privado e não dos governos. Portanto, não é o dumping que é questionado perante a OMC, e sim a obediência pela autoridade investigadora dos procedimentos investigatórios estabelecidos no ADA. Tanto os órgãos da Administração Pública como a OMC exercem uma função fundamental para que o devido processo legal seja observado em matéria antidumping. A função legislativa é criar as normas que regularão o procedimento, a função executiva é aplicar/monitorar o procedimento, e a função judiciária é verificar se o procedimento tem sido aplicado corretamente. À luz dessas considerações, a tese a ser defendida é que: (i) diante das limitações trazidas aos painéis e ao Órgão de Apelação pelo Artigo 17.6 do ADA, a função do sistema de solução de controvérsias da OMC e dos judiciários nacionais, em matéria antidumping, muito se assemelham: ambos buscam controlar a discricionariedade da autoridade investigadora; (ii) mais efetivo para os importadores e/ou exportadores que pretendem questionar uma medida antidumping seria buscar inicialmente uma solução mediante recurso ao judiciário do país importador. O recurso ao sistema da OMC, além de depender do interesse do governo e ser oneroso, apresenta dificuldades no momento de implementação das recomendações; (iii) entretanto, tendo em vista o despreparo do Judiciário Brasileiro, sugerimos a criação de cortes especializadas; (iv) o recurso ao Judiciário, mesmo perante cortes especializadas, não resolveria os problemas do processo antidumping apontados ao longo da tese. Para sanar, fazemos algumas outras sugestões de mudanças estruturais para aplicação: (a) no âmbito da OMC, com vistas a delimitar a atuação do Órgão de Apelação e garantir segurança jurídica aos Membros; e (b) no âmbito brasileiro, com vistas a modificar a dinâmica das investigações antidumping conduzidas pela autoridade administrativa e assegurar o cumprimento de sua real finalidade. / Despite the fact that the flow of trade affected by anti-dumping measures does not reach 1% of global trade, approximately 20% of the disputes at the WTO are about these measures. The WTO is an intergovernmental organization and its dispute settlement system has the objective of analyzing if the measures adopted by its Members are in accordance with the commitments accepted in the covered agreements. The WTOs Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA) sets forth the investigation proceedings to be followed by its Members in order to deal with dumping proven to have caused damage to domestic industry. The aim is to avoid that measures are taken under inappropriate circumstances, with the mere protectionist purpose of creating trade barriers. Dumping is a private practice, and not a governmental one. Thus, it is not the practice of dumping itself that is questioned before the WTO, but the obedience by the investigating authority of the proceedings established in the ADA. The Public Administration organs and the WTO are equally responsible by a fundamental role of guaranteeing that the due process of law is respected in the matter of anti-dumping measures. The legislative duty is to create rules that will govern the proceedings, the executive duty is to apply/monitor the proceedings and the judiciary duty is to verify if the proceedings have been applied correctly. In light of these aspects, the thesis to be defended is: (i) considering the limitations to panels and the Appellate Body by Article 17.6 of the ADA, the duties of the WTOs dispute settlement system and the national judiciaries, in terms of anti-dumping, are similar: both try to control the discretion of the investigating authority; (ii) it would be more effective to importers and/or exporters who want to challenge an anti-dumping measure to resort initially to the judiciary system of the importer country. The resort to the WTO system, besides depending on the government`s political interest and being expensive, has difficulties when it comes to implement the recommendations; (iii) in spite of that, considering the lack of preparation of the Brazilian Judiciary, it is suggested the creation of specialized courts; (iv) the resort to the Judiciary, even before specialized courts, would not solve the problems of the anti-dumping process pointed out throughout this thesis. To tackle these problems, we make some other suggestions of structural nature: (a) in what concerns the WTO, aiming at limiting the Appellate Body`s role and guaranteeing legal security to its Members; (b) in what concerns Brazil, aiming at changing the dynamics of the anti-dumping investigations conducted by the administrative authority and securing the fulfillment of its real purpose.

Il existe deux grands types de politiques dans le commerce international, le protectionnisme et le libre échange. Le libre échange est généralement accepté sur le plan international, mais cela ne signifie pas que le protectionnisme est totalement rejeté par les pays. En revanche, il est effectué sous les formes plus ou moins couvertes, et il serait plus difficile d’identifier les biais protectionnistes parmi les mesures prises sous le prétexte légitime. Le droit antidumping est un domaine qui suscite toujours des débats relatifs au protectionnisme entre les pays. En raison des intérêts nationaux, il est rare de voir les pays ouvrir complètement leur marché, c’est ainsi que l’OMC octroie aux États membres le pouvoir de limiter les importations de produits étrangers dans certains cas spéciaux. Les mesures antidumping sont un outil important qui protège le marché domestique, face au choc des importations étrangères visant à obtenir des bénéfices d’une manière injustifiée. En réalisant que les pays pourraient chercher à acquérir l’avantage dans la concurrence à travers ces mesures, l’OMC a voulu limiter l’imposition arbitraire de mesures antidumping. Cependant, il s’avère que l’Accord antidumping ne peut pas remplir parfaitement cette mission, et qu’il est impossible de garantir la mise en œuvre du droit antidumping dans un cadre sans protectionnisme. Ainsi, nous ne pouvons pas négliger la valeur du droit antidumping, car il est encore en mesure d’inciter les pays à promouvoir le libre échange, en leur concédant le droit de protéger leurs intérêts dans des circonstances spécifiquement définies / There are two policies in the international commerce, the protectionism and the free trade. The free trade is accepted by the world, but it does not mean that the protectionism is wholly abandoned by the countries. On the contrary, it is applied in the forms which are difficult to detect, and it is hard to distinguish the protectionism among the antidumping actions with a legal pretext. The antidumping law provokes always the debate concerning the protectionism. Because of the national interest, the countries can not open the market completely, and WTO accords the power to the countries to limit the imports under the particular circumstances. The antidumping action could protect the national industries from the choc of the imports which get the benefits illegally. Although WTO wants to eliminate the arbitrary antidumping action, the antidumping agreement could not accomplish this mission, and it is impossible to exclude the protectionism thoroughly from the antidumping law. Nevertheless, we can not negate its value, because it can also urge the countries to promote the free trade at the cost of the allowance of la protection of the national interests to some degree

This thesis addresses issues of anti-dumping law and practice from a critical and juridical analysis position. In particular, the thesis seeks to determine whether the South African anti-dumping regime is compliant with the anti-dumping regime of the World Trade Organization (hereafter WTO), and to consider possible solutions for addressing instances where the South African law is not WTO compatible. The thesis departs from the hypothesis that the WTO merely requires functional equivalence of the implementation of national legislation on anti-dumping, and not the verbatim adoption of WTO jurisprudence and relevant provisions of the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994 (hereafter URAA), into the legislation of State Parties. Some of the provisions of the URAA are not completely clear, and are cast in convoluted and complicated technical jargon, leaving loopholes that may be justifiably exploited by State Parties. The study in this thesis was achieved through the critical analysis of legislation and relevant legal documents, case law and contemporary literature. The primary research paradigm used in this study is interpretive and analytical, which is the same as qualitative research methodology. The legal comparative research method, with a historical component, also played an important role in this study. The literature study undertaken and the critical analyses made of the South African anti-dumping regime show mixed findings. The South African antidumping regime was found to have both positive aspects and problematic aspects when compared with WTO regulations. Some of the critical areas of the South African anti-dumping regime are WTO compatible whilst others are not. In some areas the South African anti-dumping regime has adopted functionally equivalent provisions to the provisions of the WTO law. However, the practice of the International Trade Administration Commission (ITAC) is sometimes fraught with inconsistencies. The compatibility of the South African anti-dumping system with the WTO regime came close to being examined by the WTO on 1 April 1999 in the dispute of South Africa - Anti-dumping Duties on the Import of Certain Pharmaceutical Products from India based on allegations that the method for calculating normal value used by the ITAC was found to be inconsistent with the URAA. Similarly, the conformity of the procedures and findings of the International Trade and Administration Act (ITAA) in anti-dumping cases came under attack in the cases of Algorax v The International Trade Administration Commission and others, and Scaw v The International Trade Administration Commission and others, respectively. Finally, the thesis ends with recommendations in response to the challenges identified and key submissions made throughout the analysis. Key recommendations include the broadening of the concept of interested parties to include registered trade unions and trade union federations; introducing an explicit and mandatory "public Interests" provision to ensure that South Africa's anti-dumping administration is free from political trappings in the form of the involvement of the Minister of Trade and Industry; introducing the new section 31 bis of the ADR in order to allow the initiation of anti-dumping petitions by a registered trade union or trade union federation; providing procedural guidelines for self-initiation of anti-dumping petitions by the ITAC; increasing transparency in anti-dumping proceedings and enquires; setting realistic time-lines for all anti-dumping processes and ensuring compliance with the same; improving the institutional and functional capacity of the ITAC; amending section 18.3 of the ADR to allow search and seizure operations pursuant to the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and the Customs Act; having a clear provision on verification visits confidentiality and a clear provision on producer knowledge; introducing a clear provision in the ADR dealing explicitly with zeroing pursuant to Article 2.4.3 (ii) of URAA; and the introduction of duty refund procedures. It is hoped that the recommendations made in this thesis, which are in the form of suggested legislative interventions required to upgrade certain areas of South African anti-dumping law and practice to be fully WTO compliant, will influence the introduction of suitably crafted anti-dumping legislation in South Africa. It is further hoped that the thesis will become an invaluable source of information for practitioners and students, and a critical source on the best practice for the imposition and implementation of anti-dumping measures. Moreover, the thesis will add to the body of academic writing on South African anti-dumping law. / Thesis (PhD.(Law) North-Wets University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011