The Antidumping Laws and Principles under the GATT: Protecting Protection, the “Dunkel Drafts” and After the Uruguay Round

The antidumping laws of the U.S., Canada, Australia, European countries, and other developing countries are seen as protectionist of those nation’s local industries at the expense of foreign exporters. The fact that foreign exporters cannot obtain a meaningful judicial review of these antidumping laws only compounds the matter. This thesis urges nations to adopt multilateral competition-oriented antidumping polices and to abandon producer-oriented protectionist laws. Even if the notion of trade liberalization has been discredited under the GATT, the author advocates a return to such a goal in the context of antidumping laws. In reaching this conclusion, this thesis analyzes current antidumping laws and their short comings in a modern economy under the main principles of the GATT. The recent Uruguay Round Negotiations at GATT headquarters in Geneva and any changes brought by it are reviewed. Also, the merits of the Dunkel Draft proposed at the Uruguay round are discussed