The European Community Trade Barriers Regulation: Private Party Involvement in International Procedures Regarding Unfair Foreign Trade Practices

The main purpose of the new Trade Barrier Regulation (TBR) is to provide European Community (EC) industries with a weapon against obstacles faced by EC firms in non-EC countries (third countries) or countries within the EC. The TBR establishes rights for private parties to complain about a country's illegal trade practices and request that ED authorities swiftly and effectively intervene, which may include retaliatory power. This aggressive, market-opening approach may be contrasted with other EC trade instruments, such as antidumping, anti-subsidy, and safeguards legislation, which aim at protecting the EC market from imports that cause injury inside the EC making them defensive in nature. The revised TBR is closely linked to the strengthened dispute settlement provisions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article will examine how this instrument works and how such private grievances in the EU end up in WTO dispute settlement, which is still notorious for its aversion to private participation.