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Dumping Investigation of Automotive Laminated Windshields Originated in or Exported from the People's Republic of China (Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency)

International Trade Victory - Market economy status granted to China!

On July 31, 2002, the Canadian Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) announced its determination that China is a country with market economy in connection with the Dumping Investigation of Automotive Laminated Windshields Originated in or Exported from the People's Republic of China. Canada, along with the United States, had traditionally considered China to be a country with a non-market economy. Athena Hou and Daniel S. Mason from the San Francisco Office, together with Canadian co-counsel Peter Magnus, represented China Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) during the two-week government verification in May. Verification visits took place in the offices of MOFTEC in Beijing and provincial offices of MOFTEC in Fuzhou and Shenzhen.

Based on the responses received from MOFTEC and the exporters, and based on publicly available information during the verification visits, the CCRA held that "the government of China does not have a monopoly or substantial monopoly over its export trade in the replacement windshield industry." The CCRA ruled that "the government of China does not substantially determine domestic prices and there is no sufficient reason to believe that these prices would be different in a competitive market." Consequently, the CCRA concluded China's replacement windshield industry operates under market conditions.

This is the first time China has obtained a market economy determination in international trade proceedings in North America and overcome the traditional presumption that it operates under a non-market economy. The market economy status should significantly increase the accuracy and predictability for Chinese producers in dumping proceedings in terms of the calculation and propriety of dumping margin or tariff determinations. "It is a breakthrough in the country's arduous fight against anti-dumping charges," MOFTEC stated.

© 2008 Zelle Hofmann/ Not Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization
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