Danish Beef Exports to Canada — A Multinational Dispute

Abstract

On July 25, 1986 the Canadian Import Tribunal issued the Finding for its investigation of imports of beef from Denmark and Ireland. The Tribunal found that subsidised Danish beef exported to Canada: has not caused, is not causing, but is likely to cause material injury to the production of like goods (emphasis added). This carefully worded statement provided the legal justification for countervailing duties to be imposed on any beef produced in Denmark receiving subsidies under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Export Refund system (European Economic Community (EEC) Regulation No. 885/68). Although the imposition of countervailing duties is allowed under the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) when it can be shown that the subsidy is threatening to cause material injury to an established domestic industry (King, 1979), using such a justification must clearly require conjecture on the part of the importer and, hence, provide only a poorly defensible position in the event of an appeal to the GATT.

Citation

Kerr, W.A. (1988), "Danish Beef Exports to Canada — A Multinational Dispute", Journal of Economic Studies, Vol. 15 No. 1, pp. 32-43. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb002663