Special Market Economy: Undermining the Principles of the WTO?

摘要

Despite World Trade Organization (WTO) principles of non-discrimination, the European Community (EC) operates special anti-dumping procedures against certain former State-trading nations, arguing that in transition economies, prices do not fulfil the same function as in market economies, thus being an unreliable indicator for the purpose of anti-dumping calculations. This paper discusses the question of whether these procedures nullify the benefits or impede the attainment of any objective of the WTO. While this approach is based on out-dated legal concepts mirroring political and economic conditions of the twentieth century, it remains questionable how effective and necessary it is to offset unfair trading practices in a globalized economy. Ultimately, WTO rules are sufficiently flexible to deal with price discriminations from transition economies without resorting to principles that are frustrating in their application and produce questionable administrative results.