Anti-Dumping Mechanism as a Trade Remedial Measure under WTO

The purpose of the paper is to ascertain whether the anti-dumping legislation, in its present form, has served as an effective instrument of protection against unfair trade practices under WTO. The ultimate aim is to assess whether the measure has succeeded in conferring net welfare gains to participating countries by facilitating trade and commercial interaction between trading partners. While analysing the administration of anti-dumping duties, the paper concludes that while the action may have been successful in curbing the practice of predatory pricing in a few cases, there are certain systemic deficiencies in the legislation which could be exploited to restrict market access. It is in this context that reform in anti-dumping legislation assumes special significance. The analysis shows that India is increasingly resorting to use of anti-dumping legislation to protect its domestic industry against unfair competition. This is resulting in retaliatory action by trading partners resulting in adverse implications on global trade. Reforms are sought in the area of simplification of agreement, treatment to developing countries, provision of time limit, role of dispute settlement mechanism among others. Nevertheless, even though it would be unrealistic to expect major changes in the anti-dumping regime in the forthcoming Round at Mexico, developing countries like India would do well to press for reform in the anti-dumping legislation. After all, even a limited progress in the pursuit of reform would be a significant step forward in the direction of free and fair trade.