The demand for protection: A look at antidumping cases

Using data taken directly from the ITC's dumping case studies, the paper uses standard logit techniques to empirically investigate a US industry's decision to initiate a dumping case against its foreign competitors. A major finding is that a domestic industry is more likely to initiate a dumping case if there has been a recent surge in imports from that country, and if that country's imports represent a significant share of the US market. In addition, it is observed that depressed or declining industries tend to initiate cases with greater frequency. Support is found for the view that US manufacturers may initiate dumping cases in order to deter new entrants to US markets or to penalize such entry.