As I read through the recent U.S. - Stainless Steel from Mexico panel report, in which the Panel rejected prior Appellate Body rulings and found that certain types of zeroing are permissible, some questions occurred to me:
-- Why is injurious dumping to be "condemned," as stated in GATT Article VI:1? What's wrong with, for example, price discriminating between markets, one of the ways that dumping can be found to exist? Should we really "condemn" companies for setting different prices in different markets where the price level differs between the markets?
-- If dumping is to be "condemned," for whatever reason, should the rules try to limit it to the greatest extent possible?
-- There is an argument that the existence of anti-dumping laws makes greater tariff reductions possible in trade negotiations. But is it possible that we'd be better off with higher tariffs and no anti-dumping rules?
These seem like good questions to me. I don't have any good answers, though.
More zeroing in the news: An article from Reuters; and Japan is thinking about pressing its case further.
