ABSTRACT
The question of ‘social distortions’ in international trade can be approached from the angle of both neutralising as well as reducing inter-country differences
which in the present case are differences in social conditions and regulation. With regard to the indirect, ‘compensatory’ way of bridging the differences, it has in particular been proposed to widen the range of anti-dumping measures to include action against ‘social dumping’.1 Unlike conventional dumping which means selling abroad below cost or at lower prices than charged in the home market, ‘social dumping’ refers to costs that are for their part artificially depressed below a ‘natural’ level by means of ‘social oppression’ facilitating ‘unfair’ pricing strategies against foreign competitors. Remedial action would either consist of the offending firms consenting to raise their prices accordingly or, failing that, imposing equivalent import restrictions.
