Economic stagnation, antidumping duties, and the congressional role in the proliferation of nontariff barriers to trade

As the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) rounds have reduced tariff protection, the United States has led the global trading system in the application of new forms of nontransparent means of protection--nontariff barriers to trade (NTBs). In particular, the United States has used antidumping duties. Some have cautioned that the world trading order is increasingly shifting to new forms of protection--such as product, environmental, and labor standards. This is a case study of the United States, including a cross comparison between the steel and automobile sectors, to examine the connection between economic stagnation and nontariff protection. Given that U.S. citizens usually express their concerns through elected officials, the role of the U.S. Congress in the proliferation of NTBs is studied to determine the purpose behind the imposition of antidumping duties. This case study and historical account shows that these new trade measures, represented by antidumping law use, serve as a for in of economic protection for U.S. industry as shown in the case of steel and automobiles. These new NTBs represent the current challenge to an open global trading system.