Antidumping policy in developing countries: Safety valve or obstacle to free trade?

In the last two decades AD policy has spread to developing countries, which are now among the major AD users. We review the, as yet limited, empirical literature on AD in developing countries and identify issues that merit further research. We address-without providing a definitive answer-the much posed question whether AD is a necessary safety valve ensuring broader trade liberalisation, or whether AD itself constitutes an obstacle to free trade. There is anecdotal evidence both for and against the safety valve argument (we distinguish between three different types of safety valves). Some more robust empirical evidence exists on the adverse trade effects of AD in developing countries, including an econometric study on Mexico we present here.