. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/ADP/AHG/W/51/Add.1
10 February 1999
(99-0490)
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices
Ad Hoc Group on Implementation
COMPILATION OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY MEMBERS
CONCERNING THEIR HEARING PROCESSES
Addendum
Excerpted from: Page
Document G/ADP/AHG/W/30 (Canada) .......................................................................................... 1
Part II: Lesser Duty
Canada does not apply a lesser duty as contem plated by Article 9.1 of the WTO Anti-Dumping
Agreement.  However, SIMA does provide for a proce ss whereby, in the event of a finding of material
injury, representations may be made to the Canadian  International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) on the
question of whether or not the impos ition of an anti-dumping duty in respect of the goods to which the
finding applies is in the public interest.1
The Tribunal has set out procedural guidelines with respect to public interest investigations
which allow interested persons2 and parties to an injury inquiry may make submissions to the Tribunal
addressing matters of public interest and, where warranted, undertake a formal proceeding on the issue
of public interest.3
If the Tribunal is of the opinion that there is a public interest in favour of the reduction or
elimination of the anti-dumping duties, it issues a report to the Minister of Finance containing its
opinion, with specific recommendations on the amount (s) by which the duties (or normal values) should
be reduced, and supporting reasons.4  The final decision whether or not to reduce or eliminate the duties
rests with the government on the recommendation of the Minister.
                                                     
1  SIMA: section 45.
2 Persons need not be parties to an injury inquiry.  For example, Canada’s competition authority has, in
the past, made submissions to the Tribunal on the issue of public interest.
3 The Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s Guidelines for Public Interest Investigations  document is
accessible via the internet at: http://www.citt.gc.ca/publicat/pb/english/pubint.htm
4  A copy of the Tribunal’s report shall be published in the Canada Gazette.G/ADP/AHG/W/51/Add.1
Page 2
As a result of a recent parliamentary review of Canada’s anti-dumping law, recommendations
were made to change the public interest provisions so as to provide more specific guidance respecting its
application.5
The parliamentary review also recommended that when the Tribunal undertakes a public
interest inquiry, it have the option of using a lesse r duty methodology to arrive at a duty less than that
which would represent the full margin of dumping.  The Government of Canada supported both of these
recommendations and is in the process of revising the law.
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5 The document entitled The Report on the Special Import Measures Act by the Sub-committee on the
Review of the Special Import Measures Act of the Standing Committee on Finance and the Sub-committee onTrade Disputes of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade , Ottawa, 11 December 1996
– is available on the Internet at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/committees352/fine/reports/06_1996-12/fine-06-cov-e.html
The document entitled Government Response to the Report on the Special Import Measures Act by the
Sub-committee on the Review of the Special Import Me asures Act of the Standi ng Committee on Finance and the
Sub-committee on Trade Disputes of  the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade , Ottawa,
18 April 1997 - available on the Internet at: http://www.fin.gc.ca/sima/simae.html
The government further agreed that factors that might form a test for public interest could include:
significant damage to downstream users;
problem of access to inputs due to imposition of the full duty;
restriction of competition in domestic market;significant impact on choice or availability of products to consumers; andelimination of competition in the marketplace.