한국산 유정용 강관(OCTG) 반덤핑관세 부과사건의 WTO협정 합치성 판단 - 반덤핑협정 제2.2.2조의 분석을 중심으로 -

The US Commerce Department decided July 11 to levy antidumping duties on oil country tubular goods (OCTGs) made by South Korean steel industry. The US reversed the preliminary “not guilty” anti-dumping duty determination made in February to impose anti-dumping duties on South Korean OCTGs. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it plans to conduct a legal review on the propriety of the US Commerce Department’s final dumping decision and will weigh whether the process conforms to WTO agreements. Since the bulk of OCTGs made in South Korea are bound for the US and they are not sold domestically, the normal value on which the dumping determination is made is calculated by CV(Constructed Value) method, the cost of production in country of origin plus a reasonable amount for administrative, selling and general costs and for profits. The US reflected the profit rate of domestic companies in the calculation of profit rate for the preliminary anti-dumping duty determination but final determination used the high profit rate of multinational companies, ultimately leading to guilty verdict on South Korean companies. However, this arbitrary calculation method, used in final determination, can not be justified under Anti-dumping Agreement 2.2.2. in that: ① CV profit on the financial data of Tenaris does not reflect the production or sale of OCTG, or products within the same general category of merchandise as OCTG in Korea.; ② the amounts for SG&A and profits does not reasonably calculated if they are based on data relating to only one exporter or producer. ③ Tenaris’s profit margin exceeds the profit cap.; ④ there are more reasonable alternative methods for calculating the amounts for administrative, selling and general costs and for profits. Recently, ever more examples show how so-called trade remedies are proliferating, with pernicious effects. Therefore, the Korean companies and authority concerned have to take active manner and come up with measures so other countries’ anti-dumping measures not to be misused as a cover for protectionism.