Official financing support in the form of export credit has been a controversial issue in World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement. WTO Members that apply the interest rate provisions of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits qualify for the safe haven provisions under item (k) of Annex I of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. However, an interesting issue is whether subsidized export credits which comply with the OECD Arrangement can be targeted in countervailing duty (CVD) actions. This commentary seeks to examine the scope and limit of the safe haven provisions in the light of the WTO disputes dealing with export credits and other domestic CVD actions concerning export credits. The article argues that safe haven provisions under item (k) are of limited use especially in the context of CVD investigations.
Global Trade and Customs Journal