Non-market economies have had an interesting history under the countervailing duty law. For a number of years, there was debate about whether it made any sense to apply the law - which is based on the idea of comparing what the government is doing and a market-based benchmark - to a country in which there was no meaningful market-based benchmark. The courts finally ruled that the law could not be applied to non-market economies. The current rule continues to be that the United States countervailing duty law cannot apply to non-market economies, though there are growing calls in the United States for a change in the law focused primarily on the treatment of China. The factors to be considered in determining whether a country is a non-market economy, as set forth in the statute, are:

- The extent to which the currency of the foreign country is convertible into the currency of other countries;

- The extent to which wage rates in the foreign country are determined by free bargaining between labour and management;

- The extent to which joint ventures or other investments by firms of other foreign countries are permitted in the foreign country;

- The extent of government ownership or control of the means of production; The extent of government control over the allocation of resources and over the price and output decisions of enterprises; and

- Such other factors as the administering authority considers appropriate.

Source: Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation practices and procedures