Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Law and Practice: The Mexican Experience

Abstract

Although Mexican antidumping and countervailing duty laws are similar in important respects to the unfair trade laws of Mexico’s NAFTA partners, the United States and Canada, there are significant procedural and substantive differences. In light of these differences, and given that Mexico is one of the WTO’s most frequent users of unfair trade laws (including at least 25 actions against United States producers in recent years), the subject warrants closer study and analysis by academics and practitioners alike. This article explores the subject of Mexican antidumping and countervailing duty laws in detail by discussing their origins and historical development; comparing them to their US and Canadian counterparts; and guiding the reader through the life-cycle of Mexican antidumping and countervailing duty cases. It also analyzes the various administrative and judicial review options, including NAFTA’s Chapter 19, along with relevant Mexican court, NAFTA binational panel and WTO Dispute Settlement Body jurisprudence. (The article in slightly different form is Chapter 5 in Trade Remedies in North America (Kluwer Law Int’l, 2010).

Keywords: Mexico, international trade, antidumping, countervailing duty, trade remedies, NAFTA

JEL Classification: F02, K33, K20