Suchergebnisse

Dans le but d'encourager la création d'emplois et d'attirer les investissements étrangers en Wallonie, le Plan Marshal comprend plusieurs mesures fiscales importantes pour les entreprises. Ces mesures visent à "alléger la taxation communale, provinciale et fluviale". Ces mesures fiscales ne nous paraissent pas être les plus appropriées pour atteindre les objectifs visés en matière de créations d'emplois et d'attraction des investissements étrangers. L'impact économique potentiel des leviers fiscaux dont dispose la région wallonne est en effet limité. Bien que les taxes locales supportées par les entreprises ont fortement augmenté les années passées, celles-ci ne représentent néanmoins qu'une petite partie du montant total de taxes que les entreprises paient. La plus grande partie vient de l'impôt sur les profits des sociétés ("corporate tax rate"), qui est une taxe fédérale. Bien que cette taxe ne soit pas directement modifiable par les régions, nous estimons néanmoins qu'elle est le seul levier fiscal susceptible de relancer l'activité et de doper l'emploi de façon significative en Wallonie. L'impact économique positif d'une diminution importante du taux de l'impôt des sociétés devrait ainsi surpasser celui des mesures fiscales prévues dans le Plan Marshal. Malgré la réforme de la taxation des sociétés opérée en Belgique fin 2002, qui a vu le taux d'impôt des sociétés diminuer de 40,17% à 33,99%, le taux d'imposition des sociétés pratiqué en Belgique demeure un des plus élevés au niveau européen (UE-25). Une étude récente de l'OCDE montre ainsi que la Belgique se situe à la 6èmeplace des pays européens qui ont le taux de taxation des sociétés le plus élevé. Pour tenter de corriger ce handicap concurrentiel, le gouvernement Verhofstadt II a mis en place en 2005 une mesure de déduction des intérêts notionnels, qui donne aux entreprises la possibilité de réduire le montant de la base fiscale imposable à l'impôt des sociétés. Le gouvernement fédéral espère que cette mesure augmentera l'attrait de la Belgique pour les investisseurs étrangers, en dépit du taux d'impôt élevé sur les profits. A ce moment, il est encore trop tôt pour pouvoir évaluer le succès de cette mesure. L'étude que j'ai préparée pour le colloque ADEL examine l'impact d'une nouvelle baisse de l'impôt des sociétés sur les flux d'investissements directs étrangers et sur l'emploi en Belgique. L'exercice a été effectué en diminuant le taux d'impôt des sociétés à 25%, qui est le taux moyen dans l'UE-25. La méthodologie utilisée pour mesurer cet impact est inspirée d'une étude américaine qui a été réalisée il y a quelques années. Pour effectuer cet exercice, j'utilise une base de données de plusieurs milliers de grandes firmes belges et de leurs "filiales" dans d'autres pays de l'UE-25. Grâce à cette base de données, il m'est permis d'analyser quel est l'effet sur les investissements des entreprises belges des taxes dans les pays hôtes. Les estimations les plus prudentes montrent qu'en abaissant le taux d'imposition des sociétés à 25%, environ 125.000 emplois nouveaux devraient être créés en Belgique, dont 20.000 en Wallonie et 28.750 à Bruxelles.

China's importance for India as a trading partner has increased tremendously over the recent years. At the same time, China has become the main target of Indian antidumping measures with a number of measures that is unprecedented worldwide. This paper provides a detailed analysis of trade flows between the two emerging economies and investigates on which type of products and in which sectors the Indian government applies antidumping measures against China. Then this paper estimates the trade impact of those measures that were imposed during the Great Recession, using monthly data on exports from China to India. The use of monthly data is relatively new to the literature and allows a detailed examination of the trade impact of antidumping measures and its dynamics. This paper finds that antidumping measures decrease the Chinese export value and quantity to India immediately and to a significant extent. The impact is quite stable over time.

China's importance for India as a trading partner has increased tremendously over the recent years. At the same time, China has become the main target of Indian antidumping measures with a number of measures that is unprecedented worldwide. This paper provides a detailed analysis of trade flows between the two emerging economies and investigates on which type of products and in which sectors the Indian government applies antidumping measures against China. Then this paper estimates the trade impact of those measures that were imposed during the Great Recession, using monthly data on exports from China to India. The use of monthly data is relatively new to the literature and allows a detailed examination of the trade impact of antidumping measures and its dynamics. This paper finds that antidumping measures decrease the Chinese export value and quantity to India immediately and to a significant extent. The impact is quite stable over time.

China's importance for India as a trading partner has increased tremendously over the recent years. At the same time, China has become the main target of Indian antidumping measures with a number of measures that is unprecedented worldwide. This paper provides a detailed analysis of trade flows between the two emerging economies and investigates on which type of products and in which sectors the Indian government applies antidumping measures against China. Then this paper estimates the trade impact of those measures that were imposed during the Great Recession, using monthly data on exports from China to India. The use of monthly data is relatively new to the literature and allows a detailed examination of the trade impact of antidumping measures and its dynamics. This paper finds that antidumping measures decrease the Chinese export value and quantity to India immediately and to a significant extent. The impact is quite stable over time.

This paper evaluates the Eurpean Union's antidumping (AD) policy from 1995-2009 with a special focus on the 2008-9 crisis. Combining product-level data on AD cases with detailed import data, we fail to find clear signs of a major trade policy change since the outbreak of the crisis. Our findings suggest that the EU largely remained on its pre-crisis path of AD policy with an increasing share of products and more industries covered by AD measures. Moreover, EU AD policy has increasingly focused on China and other lower middle income countries as targets. Further findings suggest that the EU is more likely to impose protection against countries and country-industries that are similar in their product mix. Country-product combinations subject to a preferential tariff are also more likely to be targeted. In tfirms of product characteristics, we observe that especially the shares of consumer goods and differentiated goods covered by EU AD measures have increased rapidly, remaining at a relatively high level also during the crisis.The patterns we reveal do not appear to be driven by a few outlying countries but are also similar when considering imports of individual EU member states.

This paper evaluates the European Union's antidumping (AD) policy from 1995-2009 with a special focus on the 2008-9 crisis. Combining product-level data on AD cases with detailed import data, we fail to find clear signs of a major trade policy change since the outbreak of the crisis. Our findings suggest that the EU largely remained on its pre-crisis path of AD policy with an increasing share of products and more industries covered by AD measures. Moreover, EU AD policy has increasingly focused on China and other lower middle income countries as targets. Further findings suggest that the EU is more likely to impose protection against countries and country-industries that are similar in their product mix. Country-product combinations subject to a preferential tariff are also more likely to be targeted. In terms of product characteristics, we observe that especially the shares of consumer goods and differentiated goods covered by EU AD measures have increased rapidly, remaining at a relatively high level also during the crisis. The patterns we reveal do not appear to be driven by a few outlying countries but are also similar when considering imports of individual EU member states.

Trade policy in the European Union is characterized by an intensive use of Antidumping measures. In this paper we compare existing practices in the EU to WTO rules and to other WTO Members. Our comparative analysis reveals that the EU's "lesser-duty rule", which limits the magnitude of the Antidumping duty to the level of domestic injury caused by dumped imports, results in a lower average duty level in EU cases, particularly when compared to the US. In terms of the "Sunset Clause", which limits the duration of protection to 5 years, the EU presents a lower share of measures lasting beyond this limit as compared to other users of Antidumping. In recent years, the number of case initiations by the EU has decreased. There has also been a shift towards the imposition of duties and away from the use of price undertakings as a protectionist measure. In line with other WTO members, an increasing share of cases are targeted against China, where it used to be predominantly Central-European countries and Japan, as well as other low or middle income countries.

This paper evaluates the European Union's antidumping (AD) policy from 1995-2009 with a special focus on the 2008-9 crisis. Combining product-level data on AD cases with detailed import data, we fail to find clear signs of a major trade policy change since the outbreak of the crisis. Our findings suggest that the EU largely remained on its pre-crisis path of AD policy with an increasing share of products and more industries covered by AD measures. Moreover, EU AD policy has increasingly focused on China and other lower middle income countries as targets. Further findings suggest that the EU is more likely to impose protection against countries and country-industries that are similar in their product mix. Country-product combinations subject to a preferential tariff are also more likely to be targeted. In terms of product characteristics, we observe that especially the shares of consumer goods and differentiated goods covered by EU AD measures have increased rapidly, remaining at a relatively high level also during the crisis. The patterns we reveal do not appear to be driven by a few outlying countries but are also similar when considering imports of individual EU member states.