The most common unfair trade practices are dumping and subsidies or incentives given by a government to increase exports. In such cases, the aim is to balance the situation within the destination market through the imposition of anti-dumping measures or countervailing duties.

 

Under Mexican law, the import of goods under conditions of price discrimination or subsidy in the exporting country, whether it is the country of origin or the place of provenance of such goods, is considered an unfair international trade practice that damages a domestic production industry of identical or similar goods.

 

Regarding international trade, several trade agreements regulate the imposition of anti-dumping measures, specifically the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT.

 

To implement the anti-dumping measures, the Government of the concerned country shall demonstrate, by means of a thorough investigation, that dumping exists, estimate its magnitude, and prove the damage caused to the industry of the importing country, or the threat of such damage, in each case.

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​Although the general rule of the GATT/WTO is to avoid protectionist measures, anti-dumping measures, together with other remedies, are the exception. The aim is to limit, as much as possible, unfair competition, and to place competitors within similar circumstances.

 

In Mexico, anti-dumping measures comprise countervailing duties to the product in question, in order to bring its price closer to its “normal value” in the country of origin.

 

Countervailing duties and safeguard measures are trade remedies aimed at countering unfair trade practices and protecting domestic markets, usually by increasing tariffs or restricting imports.