Antidumping Cases in the US Chemical Industry: A Panel Data Approach

Factors motivating the decision to file an antidumping petition are analyzed with data from 1976-88 for the U.S. chemical industry. The incidence of antidumping filings is related to disaggregate levels of, and changes in, macroeconomic variables in a count model framework. Import penetration, number of employees, price-cost margins, the chemical production index, and dumping margins all significantly influence the filing decision, while average wages, the capital-to-shipments ratio, and the new capital expenditures-to-shipments ratio do not. There is also evidence that antidumping filings increased significantly following implementation of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979.