By Agence France-Presse China topped a list of countries that have triggered anti-dumping investigations on their exports in the six months to June, but the number of cases was down 43% from a year ago, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Oct. 24. Other member states launched 12 such probes against China in the first half of the year, compared with 21 investigations initiated during the same period in 2002, according to the WTO. Korea and India took second and third place respectively, with eight and six anti-dumping studies made on their exports between January-June. During the six months, 18 WTO members initiated 79 inquiries into anti-dumping compared with 149 investigations launched by 17 member states in the first half of 2002. Although there was no official explanation as to why the figure plunged so sharply, a WTO official speculated it could simply reflect a drop in dumping activities following a wave of investigations in the past. The United States launched the highest number of probes on its imports -- 16 -- followed by India with 12. Both figures were a decline from a year earlier at 22 and 25 respectively. The probes mostly affected products in the chemical sector, followed by base metals -- including iron, steel and aluminum goods -- and then plastics. As for anti-dumping measures slapped on exports in the first six months of the year, there were 112 cases affecting 41 WTO members, a slight rise from the 99 incidents in the preceding first half. Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2003
