‘A’ makes motorcycles in the US and other countries. The EU and the US had a trade dispute and imposed extra taxes on some goods from each other. ‘A’ decided to move its production for the EU market from the US to Thailand, where the taxes were lower. The EU did not accept that the motorcycles from Thailand had a different origin and still wanted to tax them more.
‘A’ asked the Belgian authorities to confirm that the motorcycles from Thailand had a different origin. The Belgian authorities agreed, but the EU Commission disagreed and told them to change their decision. However, the EU Commission’s decision was upheld by the lower court which is now challenged before the higher court.
The Advocate General who is a legal adviser to the higher court opined that ‘A’s’ move to Thailand was not a trick to pretend that the motorcycles came from somewhere else, but a legitimate response to the trade dispute. She suggested that the higher court should overturn the lower court’s judgment and annul the EU Commission’s decision.
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