WTO: Antidumping Issues in the Doha Development Agenda Page: 2 of 22
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WTO: Antidumping in the Doha Development Agenda
Summary
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. A major objective of the Hong Kong
Ministerial Conference, beginning on December 13, 2005, is to settle a range of
questions that will shape the final agreement of the DDA, including possible changes
to the Agreements.
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. Some
countries have recently called for accelerating the pace of negotiations in this area.
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.
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Jones, Vivian C. WTO: Antidumping Issues in the Doha Development Agenda, report, December 6, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc807965/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.