International Trade Law Commons^™

Implementing The Tokyo Round: Legal Aspects Of Changing International Economic Rules, John H. Jackson, Jean-Victor Louis, Mitsuo Matsushita

Michigan Law Review

International economic and political interdependence has increased dramatically since the close of World War II. We now watch foreign wars on our living room television sets, move billions of dollars worth of funds across national borders daily, and feel the effects of political violence in the Mideast throughout our domestic farmlands. A corollary to economic and political interdependence, however, is the less visible but equally pervasive problem of legal interdependence. Any attempt, in the contemporary world, to create new international rules or institutions necessarily depends on the national legal and constitutional systems of a number of countries. This Article analyzes …

Commercial Treaties And Foreign Companies: The Mutually Reinforcing Principles Of Remedial Antitrust And National Treatment, Alan Van Kampen

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that greater appreciation for the nature and importance of national treatment obligations will compel tribunals fashioning antitrust relief to provide more suitably for foreign firms, and thus avoid straining international trade relations. Moreover, because antitrust relief and national treatment objectives are mutually reinforcing, greater recognition of national treatment requirements should improve remedial orders from the standpoint of antitrust economics. Meeting national treatment requirements should place little added burden on the antitrust tribunal; it must merely extend impartial economic analysis to all market suppliers, not just domestic firms.

This Note explores methods to ensure that antitrust relief orders …

Anti-Dumping Law In A Liberal Trade Order, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Anti-Dumping Law in a Liberal Trade Order by Richard Dale

Applying Antidumping Law To Perishable Agricultural Goods, Michigan Law Review

Michigan Law Review

This Note argues that the general sort of econometric test relied on by the Commerce Department in Mexican Vegetables represents a clear improvement over traditional price comparison methodology. Part I outlines important procedural and substantive aspects of the antidumping enforcement scheme and identifies several features of the traditional methodology that increase the likelihood of a less-than-fair-value finding in cases involving substantial price variation. Part II analyzes the economic characteristics of perishable agricultural goods that often produce wide variations in their prices. Part III finds that both the legislative history of the antidumping statute and economic theory proscribe only predatory pricing …

United Kingdom Regulation Of Transnational Corporate Concentration, J. Denys Gribbin

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article begins by describing the United Kingdom's policy toward outward and inward direct investment and then sets out the essentials of the competition laws that are among the major, nondiscriminatory regulatory mechanisms that affect corporate behavior and planning. The article also analyzes the development of competition policy as a microeconomic instrument along with its application to monopoly, oligopoly, and cartels involving transnational corporations. Competition policy, except for cartels, is shown to be relatively benign toward mergers until recently, and with respect to monopoly and oligopoly has sought remedies in regulation of prices and behavior rather than through structural change. …

Reflections On Recent Oecd Activities: Regulation Of Multinational Corporate Conduct And Structure, Kurt Stockmann

Michigan Journal of International Law

In recent, years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has repeatedly addressed, in a variety of forms, the problem of transnational corporate concentration. In the field of restrictive business practices, it has made suggestions on specific antitrust problems, issued council recommendations, and promulgated the 1976 Concil Guidelines for multinational enterprises. Not surprisingly for an organization that adheres to the principle of unanimity and, consequently, is governed by the law of the smallest common denominator, these efforts have thus far focused more on procedure than on substance. Even where quasisubstantive rules have been adopted, such as in competition guideline …

Supranational Regulation Of Transnational Corporations: The Unctad And Ctc Efforts, James D. Kurek

Michigan Journal of International Law

The focus of this article is the current United Nations’ efforts designed to influence the activities of transnational corporations (TNCs) and other participants in the foreign investment arena, with special attention being given to those provisions which deal with concentration. The efforts to be discussed are primarily centered in the U. N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the U. N. Economic and Social Council's Commission on Transnational Corporations (CTC). Since the approach and methods employed by these two bodies differ in several significant respects, each will be considered separately. The concluding discussion examines a variety of views on …

The "Economic" Analysis Of Transnational Mergers, William James Adams

Michigan Journal of International Law

No congregation of lawyers can be considered complete without a token economist. The role of the economist consists of describing the economic mode of analyzing the legal problem under consideration. Unfortunately from the standpoint of the token, economists rarely agree on criteria appropriate for the appraisal of economic phenomena. With respect to transnational corporate mergers, four modes of analysis may be described legitimately as economic.

Regulating Multinational Corporate Concentration-The European Economic Community, John Temple Lang

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the purpose of this article to discuss the policies and goals of the efforts of the European Communities to regulate multinational corporate concentration. For reasons that will become clear in the course of the article, it is necessary to start by outlining the means available to the European Communities, both presently and potentially, to promote these policies. It is not possible to see what those policies might be or how they are likely to develop without understanding the practical implications of the various legal rules on which the Community might rely in the future. This article does not …

Canadian Merger Policy And Its International Implications, Eric K. Gressman

Michigan Journal of International Law

The implications of Canadian merger policy are of deep concern to U.S. and other foreign investors who have invested or are considering investing in Canada. U.S. interests own 60 percent of Canada's manufacturing industry. In 1978, approximately 250 mergers in Canada involved a foreign-owned or foreign-controlled buyer (usually U.S.). Therefore, it is not surprising that Canada's merger policy is no less important to the decisions of foreign investors in Canada than the Justice Department's policies are to domestic investors in the United States. At the same time, the Canadian government and public are concerned with their merger policy as a …

Regulation Of Concentration Through Merger Control: Germany's Continuing Efforts, Kurt Stockmann

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Federal Republic of Germany's Law Against Restraints on Competition (the ARC), establishes an extensive regime for regulating market-dominating enterprises. Therefore, large corporations, both national and multinational, are the subject of particular scrutiny in the Federal Republic. Rather than identify and address all the provisions pertinent to corporate concentration (a task whose tedium would be matched only by its enormity), this analysis will undertake three tasks: (1) briefly describe the general scope of West German merger law, (2) discuss the application of the law to cases of transnational concentration, and (3) explain the proposed Fourth Amendment to the ARC as …

Sherman Act Applications To Predation By Controlled Economy Enterprises Marketing In The United States: Departures From Mechanical Formulae, Deborah M. Levy

Michigan Journal of International Law

In a reproachful dissent in United States v. Columbia Steel, the late Justice Douglas sought to remind his brethren what the antitrust laws of the United States are all about: [A]ll power tends to develop into a government in itself. Power that controls the economy should be in the hands of elected representatives of the people, not in the hands of an industrial oligarchy. Industrial power should be decentralized.... That is the philosophy and the command of the Sherman Act.

Introduction: Transnational Corporate Concentration-The Issues, Thomas E. Kauper

Michigan Journal of International Law

Competition policy in the United States, particularly reflected in antitrust policy, in recent years has focused on corporate structure. To some, this emphasis simply reflects a belief in a close correlation between corporate structure and behavior. A single firm monopoly inevitably will restrict output and raise prices above levels that would prevail under competition conditions, distorting allocative efficiency. The behavioral pattern is a direct consequence of structure. Many believe that high corporate concentration, even short of single firm monopoly, is at least conducive to, if not a cause of, monopolistic behavior. Some also view high corporate concentration, and the aggregation …

Structural Aspects Of Multinational Corporate Trade With The Nonmarket Economies Of Eastern Europe: An Mnc Perspective On Domestic And Foreign Regulation, John G. Scriven

Michigan Journal of International Law

In considering the structural aspects of multinational corporate trade relationships with the nonmarket economies of Eastern Europe, it is important, as a preliminary matter, to acknowledge certain intractable features of that trade. Only through a continuing awareness of the interplay of these factors can one hope to understand the role of law or regulation in trade with these states.

United States Compliance With The 1967 Gatt Antidumping Code, Robert E. Hudec

Michigan Journal of International Law

The 1967 GATT Antidumping Code (hereinafter the Code) may be viewed as an attempt to state an international consensus about the correct policy and practice of national antidumping laws. It is important to be clear about the nature of that consensus. National antidumping laws are not an expression of accepted economic theory about international trade. Rather, they tend to rest on more pedestrian value judgments about things such as "fair competition." These underlying value judgments are not necessarily the same from one country to another, and in some countries antidumping laws are not even considered particularly useful or necessary. In …

Gilmore: An Antidumping Proceeding As Cost-Price Comparison, Fred A. Rodriguez

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the usual dumping case, a producer sells his product abroad at prices lower than those at which the same product is sold in the domestic market (country of origin). But dumping is also possible in other circumstances. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (hereinafter GATT) and the Antidumping Code (hereinafter the Code) recognize dumping where, in the absence of a domestic price, the price in the export market is lower than the price for a comparable product in a third country market. If neither a domestic nor a third country price is available, these international agreements provide that …

Introduction: Perspectives On Antidumping Law And Policy, John J. Jackson

Michigan Journal of International Law

The successful dismantling of most high tariffs of the noncommunist industrialized world over the last thirty years has revealed other trade measures which previously posed relatively little risk to the flow of trade. One such measure is "antidumping duties," which each year seems to grow more prominent as a cause of tension between trading nations. Although in recent months front-page news stories have focused considerable attention on the problems of dumping and the response of antidumping duties, it is probably safe to assume that the general public, and even most laymen, have little understanding of the practice and concept of …

The Antidumping Law: Repeal It Or Revise It, John J. Barceló Iii

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article concentrates only on American antidumping, safeguard, and antitrust laws. The analysis, however, should have general application to any country in the western trading world. All such countries have antidumping and safeguard provisions patterned along the general guidelines in Articles VI and XIX of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GAIT). Any country which does not provide protection against predatory pricing through a general antitrust law might resort to a revised antidumping law aimed only at predatory dumping.

Import Restraints And Industrial Performance: The Dilemma Of Protectionism, Walter Adams

Michigan Journal of International Law

It is the thesis of this article that the remedies for the import problem-- quotas, orderly marketing agreements, trigger price systems, and the like-do not provide adequate mechanisms for insuring acceptable industry performance or protecting the public interest. Instead of compelling--or even promoting-the kind of structural and behavioral changes which are imperative if an industry is to overcome its competitive infirmities, these protectionist devices, more often than not, are likely to have precisely the opposite effect, i.e., perpetuate the very infirmities that caused the industry's plight to begin with. In short, an ailing organism is not prepared for the …

An Administrator's Look At Antidumping Duty Laws In United States Trade Policy, Peter D. Ehrenhaft

Michigan Journal of International Law

Trade policymakers, like military strategists, are often "fighting the last war." Our present antidumping law was passed in 1921. It was a reaction to trade problems perceived in the years during and after World War I. The related countervailing duty law harks back to an even earlier era. Since their enactment we have tinkered with each. Administration of both statutes has been surrounded by extensive regulations and a body of unwritten practice. But solving the trade problems of today-if that is what we are doing-with this elaborate legal corpus will not necessarily provide us with a sensible guide to the …

The Standard Of Injury In The Resolution Of Antidumping Disputes, Edward J. Krauland

Michigan Journal of International Law

When a private party files a dumping complaint, the Antidumping Act of 1921 provides a two-step procedure for examining an alleged infraction by a foreign exporter. First, the Department of the Treasury must determine if imports are being marketed within the United States at less than fair value (hereinafter LTFV). If Treasury makes an affirmative determination, the International Trade Commission (ITC) must then determine if a United States industry is being injured, is likely to be injured, or is prevented from being established by reason of the LTFV sales. If any of these forms of injury is found, an antidumping …

The "Fast-Track" Procedure: Problems Of Implementation, David N. Wall

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Trade Act of 1974 represented the most significant reformulation of United States international economic policy since the Trade Agreements Act of 1934. Responding to criticism from several quarters, Congress included in the Act major additions to the laws dealing with unfair foreign trade practices. In particular, the Act contained several measures intended to expedite the processing of antidumping complaints. One of these measures, the so-called "fast-track" provision, created a potentially powerful administrative mechanism to permit the summary dismissal of clearly unmeritorious complaints. Unfortunately, implementation of this amendment has suffered from a lack of legislative guidance, and it is not …

Antidumping Law In Japan, Gary Saxonhouse

Michigan Journal of International Law

The Japanese antidumping law neither works nor is it practiced. Until very recently, it has been a case of managed economy, with extensive government-business interaction obviating the need to use antidumping laws. While some legislation has been on the books, there's never been an action filed under the available legal framework for antidumping actions.

Appendix, Michigan Journal Of International Law

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this section: • Flow Diagram of Antidumping Proceeding • Summary of Treasury's Procedures under the Antidumping Act • The Digest of United States Cases • Statistical Summary of Antidumping Complaints Filed, and LTFV and Injury Determinations • LTFV and Injury Determination according to Country • Foreign Antidumping Law

Citations To Dumping Regulations (United States), Michigan Journal Of International Law

Michigan Journal of International Law

List of citations to U.S. dumping regulations.

Dumping: Confronting The Paradox Of Internal Weakness And External Challenge, Bart S. Fisher

Michigan Journal of International Law

Unfortunately, dumping today poses serious foreign policy problems for the United States, particularly with respect to many other advanced industrial states. Dumping is but one of a series of major economic issues faced by the United States today in the international arena, however, and its importance should not be emotionalized or overstated.

European Antidumping Law And Procedure, Dieter Oldekop, Ivo Van Bael

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article is adapted from the presentations made by Messrs. Oldekop and Van Bael at the Symposium on Antidumping Law held at the University of Michigan Law School on November 3 and 4, 1978.

Citations To The Antidumping Act Of 1921, Michigan Journal Of International Law

Michigan Journal of International Law

List of citations to Antidumping Act of 1921

Proposals For Change In The Administration Of The Antidumping Act, Stephen L. Gibson

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article suggests changes that might be made in the administration of the existing Act to improve the efficiency of investigations and the fairness of determinations under the Act in its present form. Most of these suggestions are addressed to the Treasury Department's fair value investigation, with only a few comments on the International Trade Commission injury investigation phase. The ITC has developed a framework for injury investigations that appears generally to be both workable and acceptable to interested parties. Treasury's fair value investigation, on the other hand, has tended to be more controversial. This stems in part from the …

The Antidumping Act: Comments For Business, John Cutler

Michigan Journal of International Law

After several decades of disuse, the Antidumping Act has been rediscovered in recent years by domestic producers. However, even as American manufacturers have resorted to the Act with increasing frequency, they have criticized it as being ineffective. Although American producers undoubtedly would be better served if the Antidumping Act were to be amended in response to these criticisms, the Act, as presently written and administered by the Treasury Department, can even now provide benefits for domestic producers that are frequently overlooked. An American manufacturer who initiates a proceeding under the Antidumping Act is usually seeking to force up prices for …