Analysis On Zeroing Under The Targeted Dumping

The zeroing was one of the topics that has a high frequency of litigation in the anti-dumping field of the WTO(World Trade Organization,hereinafter referred to as WTO).According to the "Anti-Dumping Agreement",there is no express provision for the zeroing.While since India v.EU imposed anti-dumping tariffs on sheets from India in 1998,more than 20 cases have been arguing about zeroing.In 2016,in DS464,the panel and the appeals agency made a negative decision on the zeroing under the target dumping for the first time,which caused much concerns about these problems.Of course,in this case,there was one expert of the appeals agency who issued different opinions.Because of this,after this case,we cannot say the problem about zeroing under the targeted dumping has been solved.Soon,in DS471,the panel once again rejected the zeroing method under the target dumping.This article is based on this case as a starting point,from which discussing some issues in practice.Strictly speaking,the issue of a simple zeroing existed in the era of GATT.At that time,the dispute settlement mechanism was an affirmative attitude towards zeroing.Since entering the WTO,dispute settlement mechanisms have also transitioned from "snobbish-oriented" to "rule-oriented",and the practice of zeroing began to be denied.From the very beginning,the zeroing used in the initial investigation of anti-dumping was ruled illegal and then zeroing used in the administrative review procedure was also denied.However,the United States discovered a target dumping system at this time.For example,the case of the UnitedStates against the South Korean washing machine case and the United States against China's anti-dumping measures are all about zeroing under targeted dumping,but the test used in the two cases to confirm the existence of target dumping are a little bit different.Therefore,in this article,while interpreting the case,the author also made a brief introduction to the relevant testing methods in order to better understand the zeroing under target dumping.The general said that the second sentence of Article 2.4.2 of the "Anti-Dumping Agreement" is a description of the target dumping.This clause provides an exceptional method of comparing the normal value with the export price under certain circumstances.The specific situation is to distinguish pricing among different buyers,different regions or different time periods,and the pricing difference is significant.In DS471,the WTO Appellate Body identified the zeroing practices under the target dumping as the practice in DS464.Based on the expert group report and the appeal report of this case,this article intends to conduct an in-depth study on the issue of zeroing under the target dumping.Therefore,the beginning of this paper is the theoretical research and analysis of the target dumping and zeroing and the zeroing under the target dumping.From the generation of the target dumping system and the generation and development of the zeroing method,the causes of the zeroing under the target dumping are analyzed.In fact,after the case about the US-Continued Zeroing in 2009,the dispute settlement agency almost completely blocked the zeroing,and some scholars later predicted that the zeroing method was about to end.It is gratifying that the United States,which consistently lost the case,did declare that in 2006 and 2012,it would no longer maintain this practice in the relevant anti-dumping procedures that have been determined by the Dispute Resolution Agency to be illegal in the future.However,after 2006,cases about the zeroing under target dumping began to rise dramatically.The zeroing practice that has been banned has been revived with the outerwear of the target dumping.Therefore,the third part of this paper not only analyzes the longitudinal development path of the zeroing from the judgments involving the zeroing method over the years,but also analyzes the problem horizontally from thetwo perspectives of the domestic law and the WTO law.In general,this paper begins with the case of DS471,extracts and analyzes the focus of disputes from the report of the panel.Combining the theory of trade protectionism and the current world economic situation,some suggestions are made for the future response of China to such issues.On the one hand,we need to be familiar with the trade rules.We can use the existing rules skillfully to fight for legitimate interests for our country only if we have accurate knowledge and familiarity with the trade rules.On the other hand,combining the current situation,the practice of zeroing is a reflection of typical trade protectionism.The execution of this case is most likely to occur when the implementation is not in place or Execution continues to leave some room for the survival of the zeroing.For such a situation,we need to take it into consideration.In addition,we also need further research and analysis on other similar trade protection issues that may exist in the anti-dumping field,in order to better respond to possible problems.To grasp the right to speak and integrating into the formulation of trade rules as soon as possible will only ensure that China's legitimate interests in international trade are effectively protected.