Defining Anti-Dumping Duties under European Union Law

Abstract

Anti-dumping duties are a payment levied by a State to counter injurious dumping. This levy is demanded when importing a product into the territory of the State. By default, one would count on that compound term to be self-explanatory. After all, an anti-dumping duty is a mandatory levy that appears to be incurred upon importation in the same way as customs, excise or other import duties. Under European Union law, their nature is different and disassociated from other types of State levies. As will be argued in this note, the currently employed definition of anti-dumping duties under European Union law may be simple but carries with it a multitude of considerations and implications. As such, and while deriving from a judgment of the year 2000, the definition remains valid until today and provides an example to other jurisdictions on how to categorise anti-dumping duties in the national system of laws.