Brussels, 08/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - In a notice published on Wednesday, the European Commission announced that, following the March 2001 decision by the WTO Appellate Body concluding that some methodologies used by the European Union to calculate dumping in the affair of bed linen from India were incompatible with rules governing international trade (EUROPE of 13 March 2001), it was to review, on request, all anti-dumping measures based on the methods declared incompatible with WTO rules.
In March 2001, the WTO Appellate Body concluded that certain methods used by the European Union to calculate dumping in the affair concerning the import of cotton bed linen originating in India were contrary to the WTO anti-dumping agreement. The EU implemented the WTO decision by reviewing its initial conclusions and suspending the measures taken against India. It even went further, by also suspending measures applicable to the import of bed linen originating in Egypt and abolishing those applicable to imports from Pakistan.
The Commission considers today that it is possible that other measures that exist concerning other products and other countries may also have been based on methods regarded as contrary to WTO rules. It has thus decided to invite third country exporters to request a review of measures applicable to them if they believe that these methods were used in their case. According to the EU, this additional step in necessary to achieve total compliance with WTO demands. The real effect of these reviews will vary according to the particulars of each case. The Commission states that the EU expects other WTO members that apply the methodologies ruled out by the Appellate Body also to amend their practices, and where necessary carry out reviews of existing measures, to bring themselves into line with WTO rules.