美国跨境补贴反补贴制度:历史演进、WTO合规性与中国因应

U.S. Cross-Border Subsidy Countervailing System:Historical Evolution,WTO Compliance and China’s Response

在跨国补贴多边法律规制不足和中国实施“一带一路”倡议的背景下,美欧近年来已经或准备通过单边措施规制跨国补贴可能带来的消极影响。从历史上看,美国是对外援助最大捐助国,《1930年关税法》反补贴条款不适用于跨国补贴;国际财团补贴和上游补贴除外,但二者适用于跨国补贴的范围和具体实践均非常有限。美国众议院通过的《2022年美国竞争法》拟构建适用于国际财团补贴、跨国公司补贴、狭义跨国补贴、跨国上游补贴的跨境补贴反补贴制度体系。美国跨境补贴反补贴制度在补贴接受者地理位置、国家行为归因、专向性认定、利益传递等关键问题上是否符合WTO《补贴与反补贴措施协定》存在疑问。美国跨境补贴反补贴制度如落地实施,将会对原产于中国的中间产品出口、海外中资企业带来巨大负面影响,进而影响中国企业“走出去”并减缓“一带一路”倡议实施进程。美国跨境补贴反补贴制度的落地实施还可能引发其他国家或地区仿效,从而破坏全球供应链。跨国补贴反补贴有其正当性和必要性,未来的跨国补贴反补贴多边规则应公平合理,避免对特定国家的歧视性适用。

In the context of insufficient multilateral legal regulation of transnational subsidies and China’s implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, the United States and European Union have prepared or are preparing to regulate the potential negative effects of transnational subsidies through unilateral measures in recent years. Historically, the United States is the largest donor of foreign aid. In principle, the countervailing provisions of the Tariff Act of 1930 are not applicable to transnational subsidies;international consortia and upstream subsidies are excluded, but the scope and practices of both exceptions are very limited. America COMPETES Act of 2022 proposes to establish a cross-border subsidy countervailing system applicable to subsidies which are provided to international consortia or multinational companies, transnational subsidies(narrow sense) and cross-border upstream subsidies. The cross-border subsidy countervailing system may not be totally consistent with the SCM Agreement on key issues such as the location of the subsidy recipient, the attribution of state behaviour, the determination of specificity, and the transfer of interests. If the cross-border subsidy countervailing system is fully implemented, it will have a huge negative impact on the export of intermediate products originating in China as well as overseas Chinese funded enterprises, which will further affect the “going out” of Chinese enterprises and slow down the implementation process of the Belt and Road Initiative. Its implementation may also lead other countries or regions to follow suit, which will disrupt the global supply chain. Given the legitimacy and necessity of the anti-subsidy measures against transnational subsidies, the future multilateral anti-subsidy rules on transnational subsidies shall be fair and reasonable, and avoid the discriminatory application to particular countries.