Trade Remedy Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements

This paper maps the provisions on anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguards in seventy-four regional trade agreements. The key concern of the paper is that the elastic and selective nature of trade remedies may lead to more discrimination, with reduced trade remedy actions against RTA partners, but a greater frequency of actions against non-members. The adoption of RTA-specific trade remedy rules increases this risk of discrimination, with trade remedies against RTA members being abolished outright or being subjected to greater discipline. The results of the mappings suggest the need to be vigilant about increased discrimination arising from trade remedy rules in RTAs. A number of RTAs have succeeded in abolishing trade remedies. These RTAs are characterized by a higher share of intra-RTA trade and deeper forms of integration that go beyond the dismantling of border measures. A large number of RTAs have adopted RTA-specific rules that tighten discipline on the application of trade remedies on members. Some anti-dumping provisions increase de minimis volume and dumping margin requirements and shorten the duration for applying anti-dumping duties relative to the WTO Anti-dumping Agreement. Safeguard measures can be imposed only during the transition period, have shorter duration periods and require compensation if put in place. RTA provisions on global safeguards require that, under certain conditions, RTA partners be exempted from multilateral safeguard actions. A small number of RTAs give a role to regional institutions to conduct anti-dumping investigations and to review final determinations of national authorities. This may reduce the frequency of anti-dumping initiations and final determinations against RTA members. In the case of CVDs, we are unable to find major innovations in CVD rules and practice by past and present RTAs. A major reason for this may be the absence of commitments in the RTA on meaningful curbs on subsidies