Multi-product Exporters and Antidumping: Evidence from China

Abstract

I investigate how Chinese exporters respond to market-specific tariff shocks that arise from US antidumping measures. Using Chinese customs data between 2000 and 2006, I find strong evidence that antidumping measures severely distort bilateral trade flows between China and the US. I also provide some evidence that the US import restrictions lead to a reduction in Chinese exports to alternative markets. I then investigate the underlying mechanism at the firm level. I document that Chinese firms that were hit with antidumping measures are less likely to export the targeted products across destinations. More importantly, antidumping measures are associated with spillovers across products within firms. That is, multi-product firms tend to switch exports to other unaffected products in alternative markets.