Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T17:00:16.618Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

What is Price Suppression in Abnormal Economic Times? Reflections in Light of the Russia–Commercial Vehicles Ruling

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2020

Rodney Ludema*
Affiliation:
Georgetown University
Mark Wu*
Affiliation:
Harvard Law School
*
**Corresponding author. [email protected]

Abstract

This article discusses the ambiguity found in the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement concerning price suppression analysis. Previous case law has established that investigating authorities undertaking to highlight price suppression must conduct a counterfactual analysis. This article examines the difficulties that investigating authorities face in performing such an analysis when the investigating period overlaps with a financial crisis or other abnormal economic circumstances. It suggests that the Appellate Body was correct to require consideration of how profit margins and costs are affected by market circumstances, but ought to pay further attention to the behavior of firms in imperfectly competitive markets.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Atkenson, A and Burstein, A (2008) Pricing-to-Market, Trade Costs and International Relative Prices. American Economic Review 98(5), 19982031.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Loeker, J, Goldberg, PK, Khandelwal, AK, and Pavcnik, N (2016) Prices, Markups, and Trade Reform. Econometrica 84(2), 445510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engel, C (1999) Accounting for US Real Exchange Rate Changes. Journal of Political Economy 107(3), 507538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PK, Goldberg and Campa, JM (2006), ‘Distribution Margins, Imported Inputs, and the Sensitivity of the CPI to Exchange Rates’, NBER Working Paper 12121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gron, A and Swenson, DL (2000) Cost Pass-Through in the U.S. Automobile Market. Review of Economics and Statistics 82(2), 316324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hellerstein, R and Villas-Boa, S (2010) Outsourcing and Pass-Through. Journal of International Economics 81(2), 170183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krugman, P (1987) ‘Pricing to Market when the Exchange Rate Changes’, NBER Working Paper No. 1926.Google Scholar
Ludema, RD and Yu, Z (2016) Tariff Pass-Through, Firm Heterogeneity and Product Quality. Journal of International Economics 103, 234249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parsley, DC and Wei, S-J (2001) Explaining the Border Effect: The Role of Exchange Rate Variability, Shipping Costs and Geography. Journal of International Economics 55, 87105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar