The Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (the Antidumping Agreement) sets forth detailed rules and disciplines prescribing the manner and basis on which Members may take action to offset the injurious dumping of products imported from another Member. A company is said to be “dumping” if it exports a product at a price lower than the price it normally charges on its own market, or alternatively, lower than its cost of production or the price it charges in third country markets. The Antidumping Agreement sets the rules for allowing Members to take action against dumping in order to defend its domestic industries. The Department of Commerce and the U.S. International Trade Commission conduct antidumping investigations in the United States.
The Committee on Antidumping Practices is a subsidiary body of the Council on Trade in Goods. The Committee oversees the implementation and operation of the WTO Antidumping Agreement and meets twice a year.
The Committee seeks to encourage compliance with the mutually agreed rules set out in the Agreement through a program of regular Committee reviews of semi-annual reports of antidumping actions taken during the preceding six-month period, notifications of all provisional and final antidumping actions taken, and notifications of any changes in laws, regulations and administrative procedures submitted by WTO Members. The Committee also receives questions from Members on the antidumping laws and regulations notified by Members to the Committee. The Committee meetings serve as a forum for Members to raise specific questions or concerns about other Members' antidumping regimes.
These biannual Committee meetings offer Members an opportunity to discuss antidumping measures and practices considered problematic, to receive information on specific issues of concern, and to clarify and possibly resolve issues before they become disputes.
Additional information on WTO work related to antidumping can be found on the WTO website.
Documents related to the work of the Committee on Antidumping Practices can also be accessed through the WTO website. These include:
● Annual Reports on the Committee on Antidumping Practices to the Council on Trade in Goods
● Minutes of the meetings of the Committee on Antidumping Practices
● Members' semi-annual reports of antidumping actions
● Members' notifications of changes in laws and regulations
