Subsidies And Countervailing Legal System Research In Australia

This thesis describes the legal system of Australia on Subsidies and Countervailing.The subsidy in this thesis is provided by a government or any public body to domesticproducers or the export operators in the form of funds or financial concessions,including cash subsidies or other policy of preferential treatment. Then, its products willbe located in a favorable competitive position in the international market than thoseproducing similar products. The subsidies include appropriate ones and inappropriateones. Appropriate subsidies are protected by law. Inappropriate subsidies may adverselyaffect one country’s market even the international economic order. Therefore, it isnecessary for Countries to take countervailing measures in international trade. TheCountervailing is an important legal means for countries to safeguard the trade order, toprevent the unfair trade, to regulate trade competition, and to protect domestic industries.The countervailing is also to adapt to the needs of the development of international traderelations, the maintenance of the new order of international economic and trade.Therefore, researches on national subsidies and countervailing legal system have certaintheoretical and practical value.This article is divided into five parts. The first part is a overview of the Subsidies andCountervailing, including the definition of subsidy and countervailing, and subsidiesand countervailing situation, as well as the WTO Subsidies and CountervailingMeasures Agreement. Secondly, this thesis introduces countervailing situation inAustralia in recent years. The second part is about the Australian sources of law onsubsidies and countervailing and the implementing agencies, as well as subsidies andcountervailing substantive rules. The sources of law on Subsidies and Countervailinginclude the Constitution and the Customs Law. The Constitution has the highest force oflaw, Customs law provide the Countervailing theoretical basis and practical guidance.Australian countervailing implementing agencies, include Customs and BorderProtection Department, the Minister of the Interior, trade measures review officer, andthe Australian Federal Court. When Introducing the various implementing agencies, thispaper briefly describes the nature, functions, and implementation details. In the part ofsubstantive rules of Subsidies and Countervailing, subsidy, injury, causality details areintroduced according to the Australian Customs Act: subsidies division, injury andcausality, and the policy basis as well as the practice situation. The third part introduces the Australian subsidies and countervailing procedure rules. In the order ofcountervailing processes, this part includes how to apply for Customs investigation,taking countervailing measures, administrative review, litigation and other sectors. Thissection focuses on the conditions of customs investigation, the investigation procedures,the categories of countervailing measures, the conditions of countervailing measures, aswell as the subject and scope of administrative review. The fourth part, is anintroduction of the Australian countervailing case-Chinese aluminum extrusionproducts case. The case involved the apply for investigation, Costoms investigations,the preliminary and final ruling. And this case is controversial on whether theapplication meets the conditions of Costoms investigation, whether subsidies wereconstituted, whether substantial damage was caused, and therefore has certain learningand research value. The fifth part is a summary of the main contents of this article.