For all its talk of being a champion of free trade, the United States of America is the worst offender when it comes to using the latest tool in anti-trade measures -- anti-dumping investigations. On an average, the US initiates 50 anti-dumping cases annually, making it the world leader in this area. In fact, on December 31, 1995, a third of the total anti-dumping measures in effect, were in the United States.

Apart from the fact that the US initiates a majority of such measures, the average duration for such anti-dumping action is also the highest in the case of the US. While anti-dumping duties are typically valid for 6.5 years in Canada and between 5.6 and 7 in the European Union, the average duration in the US is 10.6 years.