Vans – Photo Daimler Chrysler
(GENEVA) – The WTO has dismissed Russia’s appeal and upheld EU arguments in the dispute on the anti-dumping duties imposed by Russia in 2013 on imports of European light commercial vehicles (LCVs).
“I am glad to see that the WTO Appellate Body confirms the 2017 WTO ruling,” said the EU’s Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem: “It’s important that every member of the WTO plays by the rules. That’s what the EU is doing and we are expecting our partners to do the same. I’m looking forward to those measures being removed, so that our exports of commercial vehicles can benefit from a level-playing field on the Russian market,”
The duties ranging from 23% to nearly 30% affect exports of Italian and German LCVs and are just one example of multiple measures taken by Russia in the recent years against EU exports.
The EU says it now expects Russia to comply with the panel and Appellate Body reports by removing its anti-dumping duties on LCVs from Germany and Italy.
The anti-dumping duties on light commercial vehicles introduced in May 2013 target imports from Germany, Italy and Turkey.
The measures concern light commercial vehicles between 2.8 tonnes to 3.5 tonnes of weight, van-type bodies and diesel engines with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 3.000 cm3, designed for the transport of cargo of up to two tonnes, or for the combined transport of cargo and passengers.
The measures were adopted by the Eurasian Economic Union and apply to imports to all its countries.
The case concerns specifically Russia, given that at the time the EU brought the case to the WTO in 2014, Russia was the only member of the Eurasian Economic Union bound by the WTO rules.
This is the 9th WTO case won by the EU in the WTO since the start of the Juncker Commission. Successful EU action has led over this period to the removal of discriminatory taxes, illegal customs duties or export restrictions in key markets such as Russia, China, US, and South America.
Together, these cases concerned an estimated value of EU exports of at least 10 billion/year.
Enforcement of trade rules through WTO Dispute Settlement
