Kluwer Law International Trade Remedy Laws: The Trojan Horse in the Multilateral Trading System

An unprecedented succession of trade-restrictive measures is currently propelling the highest rise in protectionism in the history of the multilateral trading system. The groundbreaking analysis presented in this book provides an in-depth overview of the origins of the current 'trade war' and proposes a path to strengthen the multilateral trading system with rules based on welfare economics and legal principles, as well as their multilateral enforcement. Combining empirical, historical, and exegetical research methods, the author shows that trade remedies - anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard measures - rather than facilitating trade liberalization, undermine the multilateral trading system by protecting certain producers to the detriment of importers, consumers and eventually the environment. She explores and analyses: trade-restrictive measures imposed at the origins of the trade war, including trade remedies, national security and tit-for-tat tariffs measures; the origins of trade remedy laws and their incorporation into the multilateral trading system; and the normative evolution of multilateral trade remedy laws and subsidy disciplines. Sources include the documents from multilateral conferences conducted under the auspices of the League of Nations and the United Nations, and the agreements resulting from multilateral trade negotiations, such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the International Trade Organization (ITO) Charter and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, Anti-dumping and Safeguards. The collapse of the multilateral trading system has affected international trade relations and global value chains by creating legal uncertainty and raising costs for exporters, importers and ultimately consumers. This book proposes a multilateral solution aimed at preventing restraints of trade and competition while enhancing global welfare, through the abolition of trade remedy laws, the amendment of subsidy disciplines, the incorporation of an agreement on trade-restrictive practices and competition, and the inclusion of environmental and labour standards within the multilateral trading system. It will be essential reading for corporate counsel, national trade representatives, all stakeholders in the promotion of international trade and academics with an interest in the subject.