On 23 April the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices announced f its review of 30 semi-annual reports of anti-dumping taken during the second half of 2011. During the review, a number of concerns were raised: Japan complained that Australia’s anti-dumping duty from Japan had been in place for 20 years. It urged the revocation of the measure. Australia invited Japan to bilateral talks on this issue. Turkey expressed concerns about Brazil’s on-going investigation on viscose yarn from Turkey. Brazil said it was willing to talk about this issue with Turkey. The United States of America said it was deeply troubled by what it described as lack of due process in the People’s Republic of China (China) anti-dumping actions, and in particular the imposition last December of anti-dumping measures on imports of some U$3 billion worth of US automobiles. Separately, Japan and the European Union (EU) expressed concerns over China’s anti-dumping investigations on photographic paper and paper board, and on certain high-performance stainless steel seamless tubes, respectively. China said it had improved practices to ensure the rights of parties concerned in anti-dumping investigations, and maintained that its anti-dumping measures were consistent with the WTO. It said that it had imposed anti-dumping duties on US automobiles because imports were rising rapidly and per-unit price was going down. Regarding the photographic paper, it said its investigation was fair and that the final determination would be based on facts. Turkey said that because of deficiencies in the investigation, the Dominican Republic should revoke its anti-dumping measure on steel rods and beams from Turkey. China said that 20 years of the EU anti-dumping duty on bicycles from China was a case of over-protection, adding that Chinese bicycle exports to the EU had decreased considerably. It also expressed concern that the EU’s anti-dumping investigation on ironing boards was targeting only one Chinese company, which it said was in violation of the Agreement. The EU said that the measures in question were consistent with the WTO. Turkey expressed concern about the Indian anti-dumping measure on soda ash from Turkey, adding that such measures should not be used as disguised protectionism. Norway said that India’s anti-dumping action on caustic soda from Norway was the first time India has initiated such an action against Norway. China expressed concerns regarding Mexico’s anti-dumping investigations on graphite electrodes and coaxial cables, respectively. The US said that its companies have communicated serious concerns regarding the dumping margin calculations by the Mexican authorities on chicken legs and thighs from the US. Turkey said that Ukraine did not meet the WTO criteria in its investigation on float glass from Turkey, and urged termination of the anti-dumping measure. Japan said that while it welcomed the US’ revocation of anti-dumping duty on steel plate from Japan early this year, it continued to be concerned about four US measures on Japanese products that were more than 20 years old. The committee reviewed notifications of anti-dumping legislation from Australia, India, the United States and Ecuador, and notifications on preliminary and final anti-dumping actions submitted by 18 members. The committee chairman, reported on meetings held by the Working Group on Implementation and the Informal Group on Anti-Circumvention, respectively, and said that the Working Group on Implementation had a good discussion on three new papers: two submitted by Colombia and one by New Zealand.
