Procedural Requirements of the South African Anti-Dumping Law and Practice Prior to Imposition of Anti-Dumping Duties: Are They Really WTO-inconsistent?

Dumping, which is a form of price discrimination or differential pricing of different units of the same good sold at different prices in different markets, remains a continuing problem for many countries. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) members resort to the imposition of anti-dumping duties or levies to offset the effects of the dumped products on the domestic industry. This article provides a critical analysis of procedural issues in the South African anti-dumping law and practice to determine if it is compatible with the WTO's Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA). It particularly focusses on procedural issues prior to the imposition of anti-dumping measures by the South African International Trade Administration Commission. Some authors argue that the South African anti-dumping law and practice is incompatible with its WTO obligations in areas such as the calculation of the constructed export price, the determination of material injury and a causal relationship, the imposition of provisional and definitive anti-dumping duties and the procedure for review. The conclusion provided in this article is that the South African law and application of anti-dumping measure is largely WTO-compliant, particularly on the issues of initiation, investigation and prosecution of anti-dumping complaints.