Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, June 29, 2002
Exporters Must Learn to Avoid Dumping Accusations: US Lawyers
Chinese enterprises need to study thoroughly the legal environments and industry situations of foreign nations so as to avoid anti-dumping investigations, said experienced U.S. lawyers Friday in Beijing.
Chinese enterprises need to study thoroughly the legal environments and industry situations of foreign nations so as to avoid anti-dumping investigations, said experienced U.S. lawyers Friday in Beijing.
Robert Novick, an international partner with Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering Law Office, said that since China faced more anti- dumping investigations than any other country, its enterprises needed a better understanding of their export markets.
On June 20, with assistance from Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, Chinese companies won an anti-dumping suit in the United States against welded steel pipes imported from China.
Novick told Xinhua, "Doing something in advance is as important as a lawsuit response."
Disregarding such factors as different legal frameworks, foreign industry situations, market structures or decision-making processes, enterprises increasing its exports blindly would walk into anti-dumping lawsuits and find themselves at a disadvantage, he said.
William McCahill Jr., senior advisor of the Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, pointed to the Carrefour Group supermarket chain as an example of a business having to learn relevant policies and conditions in China.
Chinese companies should make efforts to know about the profitability, employment, production and capacity utilization of relevant U.S. industries before making export plans, McCahill said.
Chinese enterprises should avoid export booms over a short period or overly wide price gaps with local products, he said, underlining the coordinating roles played by Chinese chambers of commerce.
Novick said besides coordination and cooperation among Chinese companies, experienced lawyers were of great importance in fighting dumping accusations.
Since anti-dumping cases usually involved legal, political, economic, cultural as well as social factors of a foreign country, the participation of experts was necessary, he said.
Since the welded pipe case, Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering has been helping Chinese companies in a U.S. anti-dumping lawsuit against ball bearings imported from China.
Charlene Barshefsky, former U.S. trade representative at Sino-U. S. World Trade Organization talks, is another international partner of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, who also helped the legal interests of Chinese companies in anti-dumping cases.