- Countervailing Duties and EU Regulations: The EU can impose countervailing duties on imports to offset subsidies granted by third countries, aimed at preventing market damage from artificially cheap goods, as seen recently with electric cars from China. The EU must demonstrate the existence and extent of such subsidies, which has proven challenging in some cases.
- General Court Decision: In case T-122/23, the General Court of the European Union ruled against the European Commission’s classification of certain grants to Turkish exporters as subsidies affecting EU exports. The Court found that the Commission failed to establish a clear link between the grants and the export of goods to the EU, emphasizing that the burden of proof lies with the Commission.
- Implications for Anti-Subsidy Measures: This ruling limits the European Commission’s ability to include all grants in subsidy calculations during investigations, reinforcing that only subsidies directly related to EU exports can be counted. The decision may affect current and future anti-subsidy measures and necessitates a review of the legality of existing countervailing duties.
Source KMLZ
