The EU’s Commitment to Social and Environmental Standards in its Modernised Trade Defence Instruments

Abstract

Since the modernisation of the Basic Regulations in 2017 and 2018, the EU explicitly exerts social and environmental goals through the application of its trade defence instruments. Whereas the Commission portrayed the new rules as a guarantee that high European standards would not disadvantage the European industry in application of trade defence instruments, commentators were quick to question the EU’s true intentions behind the inclusion of social and environmental considerations. This article reviews three major aspects of social and environmental considerations in trade defence practice: the significant distortions methodology, the new calculation of the injury margin and the application of the Union interest test. This article commends the EU’s effort to reconcile the two seemingly opposing goals of trade defence and social and environmental protection, and identifies areas of improvement as well as possibilities to options to further “green” the trade defence instruments.