Overview of the T-MEC Agreement
The countries that make up the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have agreed on new rules for panels addressing dumping and prohibited subsidies within this trade framework.
Publication of New Rules
The new rules were published on Tuesday in Mexico’s Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), signed by Mexico’s Secretary of Economy, Marcelo Ebrard. They will also be disseminated in the Canada Gazette and the U.S. Federal Register.
Purpose of the New Rules
These rules establish procedures for Article 10.12 (Review before a Binational Panel) of the USMCA. If a party disagrees with an anti-dumping or countervailing duty decision made by a national authority (Mexico, the U.S., or Canada), they can appeal to a binational panel under the USMCA, composed of five panelists.
Anti-dumping duties are applied when an imported product is sold below its normal value, while countervailing duties arise due to state subsidies for exporters. Both aim to curb unfair practices and protect domestic industries affected by external competition.
Article 10.12 (Review of Final Determinations on Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties), paragraph 14, of the USMCA mandates that parties adopt or maintain procedural rules for binational panel reviews.
These rules aim to ensure that panels render a decision within 315 days of the procedure’s start, in line with Article 10.12’s objectives and provisions. The goal is to ensure a fair, expeditious, and cost-effective review of final determinations.
Entry into Force
The agreement signed by Ebrard will take effect starting Wednesday.
Panelist Selection Process
Under the USMCA, parties will create and maintain a list of individuals who will serve as panelists in disputes arising within this scope. The list will, where possible, include individuals who are or have been judges. Parties will conduct consultations to develop this list, which must include at least 75 candidates. Each party will select at least 25 candidates, all of whom must be nationals of Canada, the U.S., or Mexico.
Each party will replace internal judicial review of final anti-dumping and countervailing duty determinations with binational panel review.
Panel Review Process
An involved party can request that the panel review, based on the administrative record, a final determination on anti-dumping and countervailing duties issued by an importing party’s competent investigative authority, to determine if the determination complied with the importing party’s legal provisions on anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
For this purpose, the relevant legal provisions on anti-dumping and countervailing duties include laws, legislative backgrounds, regulations, administrative practices, and pertinent judicial precedents that a court of the importing party might rely on to review a final determination by the competent investigative authority.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the purpose of these new rules? The new rules establish procedures for binational panels to review final determinations on anti-dumping and countervailing duties, ensuring a fair, expeditious, and cost-effective process.
- Who can request a panel review? An involved party, disagreeing with a final determination on anti-dumping or countervailing duties, can request a panel review.
- What does the panel review? The panel reviews final determinations on anti-dumping and countervailing duties issued by an importing party’s competent investigative authority.
- What legal provisions guide the panel review? The panel relies on relevant laws, legislative backgrounds, regulations, administrative practices, and judicial precedents of the importing party to review a final determination.
