Russia v. the EU: Russia files its first WTO dispute
On
6 January 2014, Russia filed its first WTO dispute, the respondent
being the European Union. The dispute concerns antidumping measures
imposed by the EU on ammonium nitrate and certain steel products, more
precisely – the methods of calculation of the dumping margin. Russia
claims that the EU uses cost adjustments ignoring the fact that
energy prices in Russia are lower than in the EU, which is Russia’s
natural advantage. The parties to the dispute have now 60 days for consultations.
Russia
is already the respondent in another WTO dispute, which has been
initiated by the EU and which concerns the Russian recycling fee for
vehicles. In this dispute, the WTO panel has been established, but not
yet composed. As on 1 January 2014 amendments to the relevant Russian legislation have entered into force, which seems to make the law non-discriminative, one wonders whether the EU will pursue the proceeding.
