Study On Anti-dumping Zeroing Of The United States

In today's free trade environment, anti-dumping is always used by many countries to protect their own domestic industries. There are many calculation methods in the process, and zeroing is one of them. In general, zeroing is a methodology used by the Department of Commerce in the calculation of the weighted average dumping margin for a foreign producer's exports to the United States. The defining characteristic of a zeroing scheme is that sales in the domestic market made at or above fair value are treated as having a zero percent dumping margin rather than a negative dumping margin. Thus, when those sales are averaged with other sales by the same foreign producer made at less than fair value (dumped sales or sales with a positive dumping margin), the overall margin of dumping is significantly higher and usually results in the imposition of antidumping duties.In this paper, the author will distinct how the USA court of international trade, WTO and NAFTA treat the zeroing dispute. Then, the author explores why the zeroing used by the USA is improper. Finally, this Comment will conclude that a proper application of these principles of domestic law dictates that the United States Department of Commerce abandons its practice of zeroing negative dumping margins, in order to bring its trade practices into compliance with its international obligations under the WTO Antidumping Agreement and NAFTA. However, this Comment will also point out that, in light of the policy arguments in favor of the continued use of zeroing and the lack of enforcement power inherent in the international bodies that have condemned zeroing, the United States is likely to continue to employ a zeroing methodology in its antidumping proceedings in the future. And in this circumstance, what can Chinese industries and government do to protect themselves.In the first part, the comment introduces the definition and different types of the zeroing. Then it analyses the negative effects of zeroing, and finally it gives a general introduction of the conflicts about zeroing.In the second part, the comment traces the history of the zeroing controversy in both domestic and international dispute resolution and highlights the disparity between its treatment by United States courts and its treatment by the WTO and NAFTA dispute settlement regimes. This Comment will then examine the relevance of the Chevron and Charming Betsy standards to the issue of zeroing.The third part is the most important in this comment. It analyses the reason why America should abandon zeroing both in domestic law and international law.At last, the comment points out the reality that the USA wouldn't stop its zeroing, and explores the effects of the zeroing to China and gives some suggestions for China.