The number of newly-initiated antidumping investigations had dropped by nearly a quarter since the beginning of the global economic crisis worldwide, Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said here on Monday.

Unlike previous global economic downturns which usually saw increased trade remedy actions, there was a significant decline in initiations of new anti-dumping investigations, from 213 cases recorded in 2008 down to 153 in 2011, Lamy told a governmental workshop held in Geneva.

Likewise, safeguard measures have also been declining since 2009, after a brief surge between 2008 and 2009.

Countervailing measures were the only category of trade remedies that registered upward trend of new cases in recent years. However, in quantitative standard, the number of countervailing cases is far below those of anti-dumping.

Although overall trade remedy activity has not increased since the start of the current crisis, Lamy noted that "the interest in becoming a user of trade remedies continues to grow."

Of the 153 WTO members, close to 100 have put in place the required legal framework to conduct trade remedy investigations, and the number is still growing. Of these 100 members, on average, about half initiate a trade remedy investigation per year.

"More and more members are equipped to use trade remedies, meaning that the activity level could increase at any time," the WTO Director-General warned.