Orgalime Position Paper on the Trade Defence Instruments

In Orgalime’s view, trade defence instruments – applied in compliance with European Union law and the rules of the World Trade Organisation – play an important role in achieving open and fair international trade and in defending European production against trade distortions such as subsidisation or dumping by trade partners. Trade defence instruments should be used for their true purpose: to counter the predatory behaviour of certain trade partners of the EU in specific situations and moments in time. As such, their modernisation should not be dominated by the interests of specific industry sectors.

Orgalime supports a constructive and well-balanced trade defence policy, which ensures both the necessary protection of the industrial sectors affected by dumping, while also taking into account legitimate free trade interests under fair competitive conditions. At the same time, in the spirit of a balanced approach, any potential disruptions to the operations and supply chains of the European engineering industries must be avoided. This is essential for our industry, as the competitiveness of our firms is highly dependent on exports and, therefore, access to world markets.

Orgalime does not support restrictions of the basic principle of the Lesser Duty Rule or measures that may lead to an inappropriate increase in antidumping measures, nor do we support any extension of the ex officio procedures.

Regarding the calculation of anti-dumping duties, Orgalime calls for a transparent procedure for the drafting of the proposed country/sector reports, which should include consultation with the various stakeholders involved. Furthermore, clear definitions need to be established for the proposed criteria of “similar level of economic development” as a basis for the calculation of the non-distorted price. Moreover, in choosing the method for the calculation of the duties, the Commission should ensure that the underlying rationale does not discriminate depending on the country of origin and the industrial sectors concerned.