China, Russia express concerns over EU revised anti-dumping legislation at WTO

GENEVA - Several WTO members, including China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, on Thursday expressed their concerns about the revised anti-dumping legislation of the European Union, which entered into force in December, said a trade official in Geneva.

During an informal meeting of WTO's Committee on anti-dumping practices, the EU introduced and explained its revised legislation on protection against dumped and subsidized imports, which established a new methodology for dealing with dumping cases involving the so-called "significant distortions".

In response, China said it had deep concerns about the EU's new regulation, saying the "significant distortion" methodology for calculating normal value would damage the WTO's anti-dumping legal system and increase uncertainty for exporters.

China urged the EU to respect its WTO obligations and apply a non-discriminatory approach to all members.

Saudi Arabia noted that the concept of "significant distortion" is a clear departure from the disciplines established under the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement. It asked the EU to explain how it would ensure a fair and objective assessment by its investigating authorities.

For its part, Russia continued to believe the EU amendments were in violation of WTO rules. It said the EU could still stop short of breaching its WTO obligations by never applying the amended normal value methodology.

On the same occasion, Bahrain, Argentina, Kazakhstan and Oman also expressed concerns on the EU's new anti-dumping regulation.