EU’s ‘Distorted Economy’ Antidumping Approach Towards China: Improvement of Legal Certainty or New Legal Distortions?: Some Overall Observations

Abstract

In 2017, the EU introduced the ‘distorted economy’ rules in EU antidumping law. The new rules target in particular China. The question is whether the new rules and their application by the Commission provide an improvement of legal certainty for Chinese exporters and EU importers compared to the old antidumping regime of non-market economy treatment of China. This article makes a comparison between the new and old rules and their application by the EU institutions. The article argues that the new rules slightly improve legal certainty but that new uncertainties emerge as well. For example, the context of international labour law and international environmental law raises new questions. antidumping, distorted economy, EU, China, WTO, legal certainty