News 24 Jun. 2021
Curtis successfully defends foreign states' procedural privileges in the UK Supreme Court
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News 23 Jun. 2021
Ibrahim Elsadig joins Curtis as Partner in Dubai
Client Alert 24 Feb. 2022
EU, UK, Japan and Australia Impose Sanctions on Russia
News 09 Aug. 2021
Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle enters into association with Chevalier Law in Singapore.
News 06 May. 2022
Curtis Advises Terna Group on the Sale of its Latin America Power Transmission Assets to CDPQ
Publications 05 May. 2022
Marie-Claire Argac, Simon Batifort, and Cyprien Mathié share highlights from “Affaires d’Etats: Practical Considerations When Defending States in International Arbitration” on Kluwer Arbitration Blog
Event 26 Apr. 2022
Claudia Frutos-Peterson Speaks at CAI Costa Rica’s 13th Congress of International Arbitration
News 21 Apr. 2022
SCOTUS Upholds U.S. Colonialism under the U.S. Constitution
Client Alert 23 Mar. 2022
The Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) has launched the DIAC Arbitration Rules 2022
Event 22 Nov. 2021
Partner Antonia Birt spoke at ADGMAC and AIAC Webinar Series: Webinar 5 - Disputes in Fintech and Complex Technology in MESEA
News 16 May. 2022
Curtis Files SCOTUS Amicus Brief for Ohio Justice & Policy Center in Prisoners’ Rights Case
News 10 May. 2022
Juan Perla’s Argument in D.C. Circuit Featured on Audio Arguendo Podcast
Client Alert 21 Apr. 2022
New Laws Targeting Assets of Russian Oligarchs: The U.S. Announces Task Force KleptoCapture and the Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Rewards Program
Client Alert 19 Apr. 2022
U.S. President Biden Expands Export Controls Imposed on Russia and Belarus
Client Alert 24 Jun. 2021
Update on Virtual Notarization (Executive Order 202.7) During the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
Update on Virtual Witnessing (New York Executive Order 202.14) During The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic (Updated: June 24, 2021) — U.S. Insight
International Trade
A subsidy is any financial aid provided by a government to a producer or seller of a good or service that is designed to increase the competitiveness of a particular industry firm or entire industry. For example, agricultural products are frequently subsidized by national governments in an effort to increase domestically grown and raised foodstock (among other reasons).
Various governments subsidize different industries, depending on the national priorities and politics at play. Over time, industries as diverse as tobacco, steel, alcohol, agriculture, weapons, and textiles have all been subsidized. There is no inherent limit to the industries that any particular government will subsidize, although nations with different political leanings will tolerate different levels of subsidization.
Illegal subsidies are any subsidy that falls afoul of an international or domestic adjudicating body. A huge variety of subsidies could be considered “illegal” in various contexts. For example, a normally acceptable subsidy could be ruled illegal if it results in a firm “dumping” its products into a neighboring country contrary to anti-dumping legislation. Or, a policy that favors the use of domestic goods in the manufacture of automobiles could offend the WTO’s rule against subsidies that distort international trade.
There are countless forms of subsidies, including, but not limited to:
Their common feature is that they all seek to selectively provide a financial benefit to a producer, consumer, or user of a particular good or service.
There are a host of arguments for the proposition that subsidies should not be provided in some, most, or all circumstances. They include the market-distortion argument (that subsidies impair the efficient operation of the free market) and the corruptibility argument (that political actors are acutely prone to corruption when enacting subsidies).
Subsidies, it is argued, typically impair the efficient operation of the free market. They create artificial or political barriers to the free movement of goods and services in a way that benefits one party over another. Further, they add legal and political complexity to transactions that isn’t otherwise necessary.
There is substantial disagreement over the effect of subsidies on the economy as a whole. It is probably safe to say that subsidies tend to take with one hand while they give with another. Certain subsectors of the economy are helped by certain subsidies, while other sectors of the economy are harmed by still other subsidies.
It is impossible to know with certainty how subsidies as a whole, or any one particular government subsidy, affect the economy. As with much economic research, there are so many variables at play that it is extraordinarily difficult to tease out the effects of one policy or group of policies.
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