Distinguishing International from Domestic Predation: A New Approach to Predatory Dumping
![handle is hein.journals/stanit23 and id is 633 raw text is: Note
Distinguishing International
From Domestic Predation: A
New Approach to
Predatory Dumping
American industry views the dumping' of foreign goods into
the United States as an unfair trade practice that intensifies the
difficulties many American companies encounter in effectively
competing with foreign industry.2 In contrast, economists con-
tend that this form of price discrimination normally benefits
American consumers, and therefore should not violate the anti-
trust laws.3 In the rare cases where low-priced imports threaten
the existence or the long-run competitive structure of an Ameri-
can industry, economists argue that existing antitrust predatory
pricing doctrine sufficiently addresses the problem.
In recent years, courts have incorporated economic argu-
1 For the purposes of this note, a firm dumps when it charges a price in an
export market that is lower than its home market price, after adjusting for the additional
expenses incurred in exporting the good.
2 Charlene King, spokeswoman for Intel Corporation, said in response to a dump-
ing finding against Japanese chip manufacturers in the 256K DRAM case, we applaud
the government for seriously redressing these illegal acts by the Japanese producers.
San Francisco Chron. Mar. 14, 1986, at 37, col. 5. Members of Congress agree with
industrial leaders on the dumping issue. Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas) said, [i]t is
time we called a screeching halt to the predatory pricing practices of Japanese
chipmakers and put others on notice that we've had it up to here with dumping. Id. at
40, col. 4. Even the Commerce Department sees dumping as more than a protectionist
issue. S. Bruce Smart Jr., Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, ex-
plained that the Federal Government did not participate in a conference among Ameri-
can and Japanese industrial leaders and representatives from the Japanese government
to discuss dumping partly because we were concerned that our presence there some-
how would be interpreted as some form of repeal or absolution from the antitrust laws.
N.Y. Times, Mar. 14, 1986, at D2, col. 1.
3 Lower prices in an export market are often justified by many factors other than
predatory intent. In these cases, consumers benefit from lower prices and greater out-
put. See infra text accompanying notes 12-26.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/stanit23&div=28&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Distinguishing International from Domestic Predation: A New Approach to Predatory Dumping
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