Member states under attack in row over leaked trade secrets

Date: 23/03/2000

By Peter Chapman

EU MEMBER states have come under fierce attack from the European Commission amid allegations that secret information about companies involved in trade cases has been leaked to industry.

The Commission has warned national diplomats on the Union's anti-dumping advisory committee that confidential documents relating to dumping cases have been passed on to industry lawyers. These include sensitive information supplied by complainants trying to prove they have been harmed by the alleged dumping and evidence provided by their overseas targets as part of their defence against the threat of punitive tariffs.

"The Commission had a real rant about confidentiality because it seems that some commercially confidential working documents have been supplied to lawyers offices," said one EU source. "Law firms were then saying 'we have the documents, does anyone want to buy them?'"

The source said this data could then be used by the companies involved in dumping cases or by competitors anxious to find out their rivals' commercial secrets. "It is the classic stuff that you would want - the full analysis with trends and prices," he added.

Sources say that at a meeting of anti-dumping experts earlier this month, the Commission pointed the finger at national delegations and warned that it was conducting further investigations into the leaks in a bid to ward off the risk of legal action from companies whose secrets have been revealed.

Aides to Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy confirmed this week that the warning had been delivered. They were, however, anxious to play down the severity of the alleged security breaches, amid concern that the row could undermine industry's confidence in anti-dumping probes. "I think from time to time member states are not conscious of doing something wrong. It is good for us regularly to recall the rules," said one senior official.

He insisted that the commercial value of the information was limited because most of the data which had been leaked was usually made available to interested parties one or two weeks after it had been circulated to member states. He also insisted that the Commission itself was totally blameless. "Leaks never come from our services. There is an internal culture of protection of confidentiality," he said.

A Brussels-based lawyer specialising in trade issues said it was not uncommon for "well-connected" firms to receive classified documents. These could then be used to try to get work from companies involved in the case - often those targeted by the proposed anti-dumping measures. But he added that much of the information contained in the leaked reports could also be obtained from legitimate sources such as national embassies and trade associations.

EU Member States have come under fierce attack from the European Commission amid allegations that secret information about companies involved in trade cases has been leaked to industry. The Commission has warned national diplomats on the Union's anti-dumping advisory committee that confidential documents relating to dumping cases have been passed on to industry lawyers.