EU’s New Anti-dumping Methodology and The End of The Non-Market Economy Dispute?

The EU’s New Anti-Dumping (‘AD’) Methodology effectively maintains the long-standing distinction between market economies and non-market economies (‘NMEs’) and continues the entrenched practice of treating China discriminatively in AD actions. China challenged this discriminatory treatment immediately after the expiry of the relevant parts of section 15 of its World Trade Organization (WTO) Accession Protocol which permits such practices purportedly for fifteen years only. For unknown reasons, China decided to suspend the panel proceedings before the panel report was about to be released. While the suspension means that WTO Members including the EU may continue their existing AD practices against China, it would not stop China from retaliating against such discriminatory treatment. More significantly, the suspension does not mean the end of the dispute as China is likely to pursue it once the appellate function of the WTO is revived.