Antidumping as a Development Issue

Almost 90 years ago Viner (1923) identified dumping as a "problem" in international trade; more recently Prusa (2005) and Zanardi (2006) have found the overuse of antidumping to be the "problem" in international trade. Others have observed the pervasive use of antidumping since the end of the Uruguay Round and the resulting framework of trade liberalization, as well as the trend of increasing cases filed by and against developing countries. What has not been well documented is how dramatically the patterns of antidumping usage have changed, to the point that while obviously impacting trade flows, the impact is now of most concern to the developing world. This paper attempts to stimulate discussion about antidumping policy among development economists, who have largely ignored the topic; evaluating trade policy by developing economies without considering antidumping is incomplete and ignores the extent to which it may be substitutable for other methods of trade protection. Antidumping has become truly a "problem" of development. Despite some debate on the role of international openness in determining economic performance, there is little research on how the use of particular trade policy mechanisms affects either trade openness or economic performance. In what follows we examine the role of developing countries in antidumping, with particular focus on which countries employ this instrument of protection, and which countries are heavily targeted; we also note those countries which are targeted but do not respond in kind.