Ethiopia (2007-08): WTO Accession Impact Assessment Study: Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

Name of client: Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI)

As Ethiopia accedes to the WTO, it will have to make sure that its legal framework and institutional practice are compliant with the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM). In this context, the objectives of this study were to:

• Evaluate, based on the experience of other countries, the importance of countervailing measures to protect domestic industry against subsidised imports
• Provide a thorough and detailed explanation of the potential economic, social, institutional and legal implications of implementing the WTO Agreement on SCM
• Assess the current administration of countervailing proceedings in Ethiopia
• Discuss plausible frameworks and administrative structures that could be developed for countervailing measures.

Activities and tasks included, amongst others:

• Preparation of comprehensive study analysing the impact of WTO regulations on subsidies and countervailing measures;
• Quantitative assessment of the economic and social impact of imports of subsidised products;
• Compliance assessment of Ethiopians laws and regulations with WTO regulations;
• Assessment of capacity requirements and current capacities of Ethiopian institutions (public and private sector, academia) related to SCM, based on extensive stakeholder interviews (with Government bodies, sector associations, chambers of commerce, research institutes and universities;
• Recommendations for technical assistance to be provided, changes in regulations (including preparation of a draft countervailing duty law for Ethiopia), and Ethiopia's accession negotiation strategy related to subsidies.