In Argentina, the lack of a specialized court for unfair commercial practices, such as antidumping (AD) measures, limits the ability of affected parties to challenge decisions effectively. Judicial review is generally restricted to ensuring procedural fairness, with courts refraining from deep technical analysis of administrative decisions. Judges typically avoid questioning the technical assessments made by authorities, viewing such matters as outside their jurisdiction. Cases involving AD are often treated as political, non-judicial matters. In practice, this has meant that few cases have been brought to court compared to the many investigation proceedings carried out and measures applied in recent years.
There are a few legal channels for contesting AD measures. One is the Recurso de Amparo, a constitutional remedy that is generally not applicable in AD cases unless there are clear constitutional violations. A significant case in 2009 (Norville S.A.A. v. Argentina) showed that the Amparo remedy was not suitable for challenging the classification of China as a non-market economy in a dumping investigation, as it involved issues requiring further evidence and discussion.
Another channel is the Ordinary Complaint under the Administrative Procedures Law, which allows parties to challenge decisions within ninety days. For example, in Volf S.A. v. Argentina, the Federal Court of Appeals overturned the retroactive application of AD duties due to procedural deficiencies. Additionally, precautionary measures may be sought but are rarely granted due to strict legal requirements.
On the other hand, a certain amount of progress has been made in terms of judicially challenging customs rulings in challenge proceedings (i.e., proceedings against unpaid tax charges) or reimbursement proceedings (i.e., requests for reimbursement of overpaid taxes/duties). However, the decisions adopted in these cases refer to certain import operations and do not affect rulings and/or decisions adopted in dumping investigation proceedings in their application concerning other importers or operations.
Global Trade and Customs Journal