Countervailing or anti-subsidy duties must satisfy the procedural and substantive requirements set forth in Article VI of the GATT 1994 and in the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. Typically, these duties are imposed on subsidised imports causing or threatening to cause material injury to a domestic industry. Countervailable subsidies entail a financial contribution from a public authority providing a benefit to a specific company, industry or group thereof. Like anti-dumping measures, countervailing measures are normally imposed for a period of five years but may be extended upon an administrative or ‘sunset review’.
We provide advice to foreign governments as well as individual exporters involved in anti-subsidy investigations. Our advice and assistance includes the identification and quantification of subsidies, completion of questionnaire responses, drafting of injury submissions, preparation of and attendance at on-the-spot verifications by investigating authority officials, representation of clients at hearings before investigating authority officials.