On Thursday 22 March, the WTO Appellate Body upheld the decision handed down by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body in January 2017 in the EU's complaint about anti-dumping duties of 23% and 29.6% imposed by Russia since 2013 on imports of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) from Germany and Italy respectively (DS 479). The 2017 decision of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body had partly condemned the Russian measures.
The panel tasked with arbitrating this dispute recognised that certain aspects of the anti-dumping investigation conducted by Russia before adopting its measures had not been handled in line with international trade rules (see EUROPE 11714). The WTO appellate court upheld the EU's arguments.
The EU now expects Russia to comply with the reports of the panel and Appellate Body by removing the anti-dumping duties on LCVs from Germany and Italy, the European Commission commented.
Adopted in May 2013 by the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, the anti-dumping duties on LCVs target imports from Germany, Italy and Turkey. The case concerns Russia specifically, given that at the time the EU brought the case to the WTO in 2014, Russia was the only member of the Eurasian Economic Union bound by the WTO rules. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)