Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards
Acknowledgements
The World Trade Report 2006 was prepared under the general direction of Deputy Director-General Alejandro Jara. Patrick Low Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division led the team responsible for writing the Report. The principal authors of the Report were Marc Bacchetta Bijit Bora K. Michael Finger Marion Jansen Alexander Keck Clarisse Morgan Roberta Piermartini and Robert Teh. Trade statistics information was provided by the Statistics Group of the Economic Research and Statistics Division coordinated by Guy Karsenty Julia de Verteuil Andreas Maurer and Jürgen Richtering.
Introduction
The World Tariff Profiles is a joint publication of the WTO ITC and UNCTAD devoted to market access for goods. This statistical yearbook contains a comprehensive compilation of the main tariff parameters for each of the 160 WTO members plus other countries and customs territories where data is available. Each country profile presents information on tariffs imposed by each economy on its imports complemented with an analysis of the market access conditions it faces in its major export markets.
Introducción
Las subvenciones son uno de los numerosos instrumentos de política general sujetos a normas en el sistema multilateral de comercio pero plantean cuestiones más complejas para quienes adoptan las políticas que otros muchos instrumentos sometidos a las normas de la OMC o del GATT. Uno de los motivos de ello es que las subvenciones se pueden definir de diferentes maneras. Otro es que se utilizan para conseguir objetivos muy variados. Incluso cuando no van dirigidas al comercio pueden influir en los flujos comerciales. El presente Informe se centra esencialmente en las subvenciones que conceden una ventaja a determinados productores nacionales por lo que afectan al comercio. La difícil tarea de determinar qué tipos de subvención plantean problemas desde el punto de vista del sistema comercial y qué cabe hacer al respecto ocupa un importante lugar en el programa de trabajo del sistema del GATT y la OMC.
Executive summary
The World Trade Report 2006 begins with a short summary of salient trends in international trade based on the Secretariat’s earlier Report issued in April. We also provide brief analytical commentaries on certain topical trade issues which this year cover recent trends in trade in textiles and clothing an examination of the evolution of international royalty and fee payments developments in the trade of least-developed countries and an analysis of the effects of natural disasters and acts of terrorism on international trade flows. The core topic for analysis in WTR 2006 is subsidies. The Report explores this area of policy in terms of how subsidies are defined what economic theory can tell us about subsidies why governments use subsidies the most prominent sectors in which subsidies are applied and the role of the WTO Agreement in regulating subsidies in the context of international trade.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements are due to all the data providers mostly national administrations or WTO delegations who have made this information available including through notifications presented as special topic. In a number of cases data has been made available on national websites or through regional organizations. Given the vast amount of statistical data and metadata that needed to be processed and because this information is not available in one single organization this publication was only possible as a joint effort of the WTO ITC and UNCTAD. Each of the three organizations has a proven track record and comparative strengths in the field of tariff analysis
Procedural Aspects of an Anti-Dumping Investigation
The following section is a basic overview of how an anti-dumping investigation unfolds in practice. It also describes in summary fashion how anti-dumping measures resulting from such investigations are assessed and reviewed over time. In order to relate the practical aspects of an investigation to specific provisions of the AD Agreement references to the relevant articles of the AD Agreement are given.