论补贴专向性的标准与评判——兼议专向性标准在美国对华反补贴调查案中的适用

Specificity of Subsidy:Standards and Comments——Application of Specificity Test in the CVD Investigations by United States on the Products from China

补贴的专向性(specificity),又称补贴的特定性,是WTO《补贴和反补贴协议》(以下简称SCM协定)中最为重要的概念之一。根据SCM协定第1条第2款的规定,只有专向性补贴才受该协定的约束。该协定仅以专向性补贴为其调整对象,是因为此类补贴可导致资源配置的人为扭曲和不公平竞争行为的发生。从SCM协定之下补贴专向性的涵义及其产生发展的历史渊源来看,这项概念体现了限制滥用反补贴措施的立法目的。从美国对进口自中国的产品展开的反补贴调查以及专向性的判断标准在这些调查中的适用情况来看,由于SCM协定要求成员方对专向性的认定应该在肯定性证据的基础上予以清楚证明,而美国商务部在对华反补贴调查中适用的"不利推定规则"却以对被调查方不利的推定方式得到的证据作为认定补贴专向性的基础,因而其做法违反了SCM协定,导致对补贴专向性的不当认定。

Specificity is one of the most important concepts in SCM agreement. According to Article 1.1 of the agreement, subsidy is a financial contribution conferred to any specific enterprises through the government or public agencies of the government of a Member state. Furthermore, Article 1.2 of the agreement provides that a subsidy is subject to the regulation of the agreement only if such subsidy is specific. The countervailing law is directed to specific subsidies, as they may render distortion in the allocation of resources and unfair competition. Consistent with the historical origin of this term, the specificity test under SCM agreement is enacted to restrict the possible abuse of countervailing duty measures. According to the U .S. Commerce Department＇ s countervailing investigations on the imports from China in recent years and the application of specificity test in these investigations, as SCM agreement requires that a determination of specificity must be clearly substantiated on the basis of positive evidence, meanwhile U.S. DOC adopts the ＂adverse inference＂ rule in its specificity test, the practices of U.S. DOC is not consistent with the SCM agreement and result in the unlawful determinations on the specificity of subsidies.