Professional Documents
Culture Documents
MARCH 2, 2009
NUMBER 37
10
5
0
proposed w/o decision implemented rejected liberalizing
Source: World Bank staff based on public information and published press reports.
Excludes anti-dumping cases.
Subsidies
and other
support
Subsidies Import
packages
and other duty
31%
support 49%
packages
100%
Import
Ban
9% NTM
11%
N = 12 N = 35
Source: World Bank staff based on public information and published press reports.
Excludes anti-dumping cases.
footwear, toys, electronics, food and China, Argentina, Brazil, Sweden and
beverages) would be permitted in only five Italy have also provided direct or indirect
ports and airports. In some countries, subsidies – not including Australia’s
tightening standards have slowed import support to its car dealers and South
entry, including, for example, China’s Korea’s and Portugal’s support to their
import ban on Irish pork as well as rejection component suppliers. To the extent that
of some Belgian chocolate, Italian brandy, the industry is laden with excess capacity,
British sauce, Dutch eggs and Spanish dairy these subsidies impede exit and delay
products; and India’s ban on Chinese toys. adjustment. Even worse, subsidies may be
linked to requirements that companies to
TRADE NOTE #37 PAGE 2
preserve domestic employment, even at the EU in December 2008 imposed duties on
cost of shutting more efficient plants abroad preserved fruits from China as well as on
in developing countries. (In the case of the imports of welded tubes and pipes of iron
European Union, state aids may not be or non-alloy steel from Belarus, China and
conditional on the location of supported Russia.
economic activities or employment). To
prevent this, governments may react to the Trends in agriculture, finance and
policies of neighbors – so, for example, labor movement deserve watching…
Canada has matched the subsidies the US
gave Detroit auto makers to ensure that
Canadian plants of American producers Protection to agriculture may not require
would remain open. new measures because existing laws
automatically provide increases in
A remarkable trend emerging from these subsidies with declines in agricultural
actions is the reliance of developed countries prices. Many programs – in the EU, US,
on subsidies rather than border barriers, Japan, South Korea, to name a few – entail
while developing countries have deployed price supports, so when commodity prices
all forms of protection (Figure 2). This fall, direct payments to producers
undoubtedly is testimony to the superior increase. For example, we estimate that
financial strength of public budgets in US overall trade distorting subsidies of
developed countries. However, once about $8.1 billion in 2008 are likely to rise
economic pressures to stimulate economies to $9.9 billion in 2009 if current price
are replaced with inevitable needs to reduce projections materialize. 2 Trade distorting
deficits, this pattern may portend equally subsidies push the global burden of
severe pressures to wall off trade adjustment onto commodity producers in
competition. Africa, Asia, and Latin America where
governments do not have resources to
Anti-dumping cases are on the match subsidies of the wealthier countries.
increase…
These measures also ignore the
protectionist bias in the financial sector.
These numbers do not include antidumping While serving the urgent public purpose of
measures. After a period of slowdown, the reestablishing financial stability, virtually
number of antidumping cases (both all nations have focused their financial
investigations initiated and imposition of subsidies on domestically owned banks
duties) surged in 2008, especially in the rather than subsidiaries of foreign banks
second semester (Figures 3 and 4). (perhaps a consequence of relative size
Compared to 2007, antidumping initiations more than national protection).
grew by 15 percent and findings with
imposition of duties grew by 22 percent. Workers in some countries, most
Developing countries accounted for the prominently in the EU have campaigned
majority of initiations, though developed for increased restrictions on foreign labor.
countries accounted for the greatest number In the United Kingdom, for example, the
of duty impositions. India was the most dispute over the use of Portuguese and
active, accounting for 29 percent of total Italian contractors in oil refining at a time
initiations. In December alone, India of surging unemployment led workers to
initiated anti-dumping investigations strike in protest at the end of January, and
involving both hot- and cold- rolled stainless triggered several sympathy protests across
steel products, affecting 19 countries. In Britain. Workers complained that foreign
addition to Japan, three developing countries companies were overlooking skilled
-- China, South Africa, and Thailand – were British workers. In January Malaysia
the target in both investigations. The US banned the hiring of foreign workers in
and EU were the two countries that most factories, stores and restaurants to protect
frequently imposed duties. For example, the its citizens from mass unemployment