Assignment 2. Read the following sentences taken from the text on the role of WTO in anti-dumping actions. Complete the text with the sentences

§ Settling disputes is the responsibility of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members.

§ The WTO’s procedure underscores the rule of law, and it makes the trading system more secure and predictable.

§ Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other.

§ The WTO agreements allow countries to introduce changes gradually, through “progressive liberalisation”.

§ But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease.

§ The WTO’s role is to provide the forum for negotiating liberalisation and the rules for how liberalisation can take place.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. 1.

Since GATT’s creation in 1947−48 there have been eight rounds of trade negotiations. A ninth round, under the Doha Development Agenda, is now underway. At first these focused on lowering tariffs (customs duties) on imported goods. As a result of the negotiations, by the mid-1990s industrial countries’ tariff rates on industrial goods had fallen steadily to less than 4%. But by the 1980s, the negotiations had expanded to cover non-tariff barriers on goods, and to the new areas such as services and intellectual property.

Opening markets can be beneficial, but it also requires adjustment. 2. Developing countries are usually given longer to fulfill their obligations. 3. Binding tariffs, and applying them equally to all trading partners (most-favoured-nation treatment) are key to the smooth flow of trade in goods. 4. The barriers concerned include customs duties (or tariffs) and measures such as import bans or quotas that restrict quantities selectively.

When differences arise, members are encouraged to consult each other. They can also use the WTO’s dispute settlement procedure. A dispute arises when one country adopts a trade policy measure or takes some action that one or more fellow-WTO members considers to be breaking the WTO agreements, or to be a failure to live up to obligations. A third group of countries can declare that they have an interest in the case and enjoy some rights.

Disputes in the WTO are essentially about broken promises. WTO members have agreed that if they believe fellow-members are violating trade rules, they will use the multilateral system of settling disputes instead of taking action unilaterally. That means abiding by the agreed procedures, and respecting judgements.

5. The Dispute Settlement Body has the sole authority to establish “panels” of experts to consider the case, and to accept or reject the panels’ findings or the results of an appeal. It monitors the implementation of the rulings and recommendations, and has the power to authorize retaliation when a country does not comply with a ruling.

Dispute settlement is the central pillar of the multilateral trading system, and the WTO’s unique contribution to the stability of the global economy. Without a means of settling disputes, the rules-based system would be less effective because the rules could not be enforced. 6. The system is based on clearly-defined rules, with timetables for completing a case.

(Source: http://www.wto.org)

Assignment 3. Match the terms with their definitions.

Assignment 4. Working in pairs, discuss the following issues.

§ What are the economic effects of anti-dumping?

§ How does the WTO regulates anti-dumping actions?

§ What is the difference between fair trade practices and unfair trade practices?

§ In what way are anti-dumping duties different from safeguard measures?

Assignment 5. Anti-Dumping Case Study: Fish Processing Protectionism. Working in groups of 2−3, state the problem and brainstorm for its causes and solutions. Brainstorm as many ideas as possible.

Critics of protectionist trade legislation say American seafood companies are seeking Congress's help to put their competitors out of business. Here is the background:

· A 1987 federal law prohibits foreign-built fish-processing ships from operating in US waters, with a few exceptions grandfathered in.

· American Seafoods, based in Seattle and a subsidiary of a Norwegian firm, fulfilled the act's requirements and prospered − operating 12 factory trawlers.

· Tyson Seafood Group, which lost $230 million last year, petitioned Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to introduce a bill to limit the size of factory trawlers, require 75% domestic ownership and revoke a firm's fishing license if the operation was sold.

Stevens and several colleagues introduced S. 1221, a bill opponents say is aimed solely at American Seafoods.

The bill is supported by Tyson Seafood, Alaska's onshore fish-processing industry − which would like to shut down oceangoing fish processors altogether − and Greenpeace, which, observers note, simply doesn't like fishing.

Critics say S. 1221 would take property without compensation, while putting political influence above entrepreneurial talent.

(Source: Trolling for Favored Fishing Protection by D.Bandow,

Washington Times, March 27, 1998)

Have you heard of similar anti-dumping cases? How were they resolved?