| Vietnam gains as WTO Bans US’s ‘Zeroing Practice’ |
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| World Affairs Talk | |
| Wednesday, 07 March 2007 | |
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Under the zeroing method, the US picks a number of products in the product group suspected of dumping and measures its prices with a ‘standard’ price. If a products price is lower than the ‘standard’ price, the dumping amplitude is marked ‘positive’. But if some products have prices higher than the ‘standard’ price, the amplitudes is not marked as ‘negative’ but as ‘0’. The overall score of the product group is an average number between ‘positive’ and ‘0’. Zeroing not only put defendants at a disadvantage but also encouraged American businesses to initiate dumping actions. For many years, that law has been the weapon of choice among domestic producers seeking to quell import competition. The WTO recently issued a decision requiring the US to cease using the zeroing method. The WTO’s Dispute-Settlement-Body reached a conclusion in May 2006 that the use of zeroing violated WTO principles, and it issued an additional decision on January 9, 2007, in response to a Japanese complaint, that zeroing constituted an illegal practice. The US has responded that it would comply with the WTO ruling but that the change would not be applied to dumping lawsuits already decided or under consideration. This ruling is an important development in the WTO jurisprudence. This made a huge contribution to free trade, which could not be made by negotiations alone. Considering that the U.S., along with the EU, is still a main user of anti dumping measures, this ruling is great news to usual anti dumping targets, especially developing countries. Under the new WTO decision, the US would be required to use a fairer method to calculate dumping amplitudes. Without high anti-dumping tariffs, Vietnamese imports would be more competitive on the American market, said Dinh Thi My Loan, head of the Ministry of Trades Competition Administration Department. For instance, Vietnam's fishing industry is well on its way to earning US$3.5 billion in exports this year most of it from the U.S. Vietnam’s textile industry will also find it easier to market and develop Vietnamese clothing trade as numerous U.S. apparel enterprises expect to cooperate with Vietnam in place of strategic rival, China. After nearly 11 years of protracted negotiations and intense horse-trading with the United States, Vietnam on 11th January 2007 officially became the 150th member of the World Trade Organization, opening the way for more foreign trade and investment to speed the communist country's capitalist transformation. The United States is now committed to full normalization of diplomatic, political and economic relations with Vietnam. The Ministry of Trade expects Vietnam’s exports to the United States would jump from $8 billion last year to US$10 billion this year. The US spends an average $1.7 and $1.8 trillion on importing consumption goods annually, with the figure increasing each year. Vietnam, now being a WTO member can take advantage and increase both quantity and types of products for exporting in the US. -End- Share & Bookmark             |
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