RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/W/174
G/SCM/W/181
ORGANIZATION 24November 1995
(95-3723)
Original: English Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE NOTIFICATIONS PROVIDED
BYTRINIDAD AND TOBAGO1OFLAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLES 18.5AND 32.6OFTHE AGREEMENTS
Thefollowing communication, dated 14November 1995, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission ofKorea.
_______________
1. General Questions
(a) Incases where there arenorelevant provisions inthedomestic legislation, doestheWTO
Agreement apply?
(b) Iftheprovisions oftheexisting domestic legislation donotconform totheWTO Agreement,
dotheprovisions oftheWTO Agreement apply?
2. Comments andQuestions
With respect tothestanding ofdomestic producers tofileanti-dumping complaints withthe
relevant authority, paragraph 5.4ofArticle VIoftheGATT 1994 clarifies that"...theapplication
hasbeenmade byoronbehalf ofthedomestic industry ...ifitissupported bythose domestic producers
whose collective output constitutes more than50percentofthetotalproduction ofthelikeproduct
bythatportion ofthedomestic industry expressing either support fororopposition totheapplication."
However, cases maynotbeinitiated ifthegroup ofdomestic producers applying forrelief against
dumped imports collectively accounts for25percent oftotaldomestic output ofthelikeproduct.
Ontheother hand, Article 18.(1) oftheActNo.11of1992merely says, "TheAuthority may
initiate aninvestigation ...onreceipt ofacomplaint inwriting byoronbehalf ofproducers inTrinidad
andTobago oflikegoods", and,unlike theGATT provision, there'snomention ofspecific standing
rules about domestic industry intheAct.
(a) Arethere anyrequirements forstanding tofileanti-dumping petitions bydomestic producers
inother regulations, ifany,related toanti-dumping?
(b) Otherwise, whatisTrinidad andTobago 'sposition onthismatter?
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3. Comments andQuestions
Paragraph 5.8ofArticle VIoftheGATT 1994 stipulates that"There shall beimmediate
termination incases where theauthorities determine thatthemargin ofdumping isdeminimis ,or
thatthevolume ofdumped imports, actual orpotential, ortheinjury, isnegligible. Themargin of
dumping shall beconsidered tobedeminimis ifthismargin islessthan2percent,....Thevolume
ofdumped imports shallnormally beregarded asnegligible ifthevolume ofdumped imports ...is
found toaccount forlessthan3percent ofthelikeproduct intheimporting country."
However, Article 23(5) (b)oftheActNo.11onlyprovides that"(5)Theauthority may, in
hisdiscretion, suspend orterminate aninvestigation (b)where themargin ofdumping of...orthe
actual orpotential volume ofdumped goods isnegligible" andnoprinciples relating tothenegligible
dumping margin ordumped imports arefound intheAct.
(a) Inthisconnection, whatcriteria doyouusewhen judging negligible margin ofdumping or
dumped imports?
(b) Theprovision that"theauthority may, inhisdiscretion, suspend orterminate aninvestigation
..."gives usnuances ofdiscretion which theauthority maynotterminate aninvestigation,
asthecasemaybe,where margin ofdumping ordumped imports arefound tobeminimal.
Thisseems somewhat incompatible withtheGATT provision which makes itmandatory forauthorities
toendaninvestigation insuchcasesasdeminimis .HowdoTrinidad andTobago interpret theprovision
inquestion?
Under paragraph 2.4.2 ofArticle VIofGATT, themargin ofdumping should "normally"
becalculated either from acomparison oftheweighted-average prices ofallcomparable exports, or
onatransaction-to-transaction basis. Exceptionally, weighted-average normal value maybecompared
topricesofindividualexporttransactionsifapatternofexportpricesdifferssignificantlyamongdifferent
purchasers, regions ortimeperiods, etc.
However, suchrulescannot befound inTrinidad andTobago 'santi-dumping law.Could you
explain Trinidad andTobago 'sspecific principles orpractices, ifany,forprice comparison when
calculating dumping margin?
According totheso-called "sunset clause" (Para. 11.3oftheGATT), bothanti-dumping
measures (and price undertakings) willexpire automatically afterfiveyears from theirimposition.
However, Art.29(2) oftheActprovides onlythat"adutyshallremain inforce onlysolong
asandtotheextent necessary tocounteract theinjurious effects ofdumping ...",andthesunset clause
hasyettobeintroduced inyourAct. What isTrinidad andTobago 'sopinion onthis?