RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/W/158/Suppl.1
G/SCM/W/165/Suppl.1
ORGANIZATION 30November 1995
(95-3881)
Original: English Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE NOTIFICATIONS PROVIDED
BYMALAYSIA1OFLAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLES 18.5AND 32.6OFTHE AGREEMENTS
Supplement
Thefollowing communication, dated 27November 1995, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Delegation oftheEuropean Commission.
_______________
Malaysian Anti-Dumping andCVD Rules: consistency withGATT
TheMalaysian rulesarecontained intwopieces oflegislation: theCountervailing andAnti-
Dumping Duties Act1993(the'Act'),andtheaccompanying Countervailing andAnti-Dumping Duties
Regulations 1994 (the'Regulations ')which came intoforce on28April 1994.
Obviously, theActwaswritten before theGATT Agreement came intoforce, soonewould
expect itsdeficiencies tobecovered inthe1994 Regulations. However, thisisnotalways thecase,
aswillbeshown inthelistofquestions which follows. Some gaps were leftover, andsome
inconsistencies withtheAgreement remain.
Question 1
There ispossibly ageneral problem concerning theorder ofprecedence ofthetwotypes of
legislation. What happens iftheActcontains provisions atoddswiththeRegulations? Thisisthe
case, forexample, inSection 21oftheActandSection 4oftheRegulations which bothdealwiththe
question ofamendments topetitions, butwhich contain different andirreconcilable provisions. Which
piece oflegislation takes precedence insuchcases? IfitistheAct,thentheresults willnotconform
totheAgreement, since theActwaspassed before theAgreement, andimportant inconsistencies exist
between them.
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Normal Value
Question 2
InPartIIIoftheAct,Section 16(5) deals withdetermining thenormal value where there are
saleswhich werenotmade intheordinary course oftrade. Article 2.2.1 oftheAgreement states the
conditions which apply before suchsalesmaybedisregarded.
WhydotheMalaysian rules notinclude alltheconditions contained inArticle 2.2.1 ofthe
Agreement?
Comparison ofnormal value andexport price
Question 3
Section 18(1) oftheActomits much ofthedetail provided forinArticles 2.4,2.4.1 and2.4.2
oftheAgreement. Forexample, there isnomention ofthecasewhere conversion ofcurrencies takes
place intheprice comparison. Furthermore, there isnodiscussion oftheconditions relating tothe
choice ofweighted average-to-weighted average ortransaction-to-transaction comparisons (Art. 2.4.2
oftheAgreement).
Whyisthisso?
Petitions
Question 4
Section2oftheRegulationsdoesnotexplicitlysaythatthepetitionersshouldprovideinformation
about thevolume ofdomestic production accounted forbythem suchasisrequired inArticle 5.2(i)
oftheAgreement.
This flaw isemphasised bythefactthattheRegulations contain noprovisions onthe
representativity ofapetition: theconditions contained inArticle 5.4oftheAgreement seem notto
bepresent intheMalaysian rules.
Whyisthisso?
Notification
Question 5
TheMalaysian rulesdonotexplicitly statethatpublicizing ofthepetition shallbeavoided before
theinitiation ofaninvestigation (Article 5.5oftheAgreement). Neither isthere aprovision stating
thatananti-dumping proceeding shallnothinder theprocedures ofcustoms clearance (Art. 5.9ofthe
Agreement).
There isnoequivalent tothefirstpartofArticle 6.1.3 oftheAgreement intheMalaysian rules:
theydonotstatethattheexporters shallbegiven, upon initiation ofaninvestigation, acopyofthe
written application fortheinitiation oftheA-Dproceeding.
Whyisthisso?G/ADP/W/158/Suppl.1
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Negative preliminary determination anddeminimis rules
Question 6
Section 11oftheRegulations, aswellasSection 23(2) oftheAct,omitsome ofthedetails
inArticle 5.8oftheAgreement which states thataninvestigation shallbeterminated immediately in
deminimis circumstances. TheMalaysian rulescontain nodiscussion ofdeminimis conditions. The
Malaysian rules simply allow theoption ofcontinuing withaninvestigation evenafteranegative
preliminary finding, ignoring deminimis considerations.
Whyisthisso?
Defence ofinterested parties 'interests
Question 7
Theprovisions ofArticle 6.2oftheAgreement arelargely ignored intheMalaysian rules.
Thepossibility of"confrontation meetings" isnotprovided for.Therelated requirement forwritten
summaries ofevidence provided orally atsuchmeetings (Art. 6.3oftheAgreement) isalsomissing
from theMalaysian rules.
Verification ofinformation
Question 8
Section 40oftheActprovides forthepossibility ofverification ofsubmitted information, but
ithasnoneofthedetails contained inArticle 6.7oftheAgreement. Most ofthemissing detail ispresent
inSection 38oftheRegulations, butoneitemisleftout:therequirement "tomake theresults ofany
verifications available orprovide disclosure thereof tothefirms towhich theypertain, ...etc."
(Article 6.7oftheAgreement).
WhydotheMalaysian rulesnotspecifically allow fordisclosure oftheresults ofverifications?
Also: whydotheMalaysian rules notcontain allthedetails ofAnnex 1oftheAgreement
about procedures foron-the-spot investigations?
Bestinformation available
Question 9
TheMalaysian rulesdonotcontain allthedetails ofAnnex IItotheAgreement which concerns
theuseofbestinformation available. Forexample paragraphs 5and7ofAnnex IIarenottobefound
intheMalaysian rules.
Whyisthisso?G/ADP/W/158/Suppl.1
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Individual dumping margins
Question 10
TheMalaysian rules could beclearer instating thatdumping margins aretobecalculated
individually foreachexporter, asprovided forinArticle 6.10oftheAgreement. Section 25(8) of
theActusesthephrase "intheappropriate amount onacompany-specific basis", which istoovague.
CanSection 25(8) oftheActbeclarified toconform more readily totheprovisions of
Article 6.10oftheAgreement?
Users 'groups
Question 11
TheMalaysian rules appear nottoprovide opportunities forindustrial users oftheproduct
concerned, orforconsumer organizations tosubmit information onthecase.
WhydotheMalaysian rules notinclude theprovisions ofArticle 6.12oftheAgreement?
Undertakings
Question 12
Section 27(3) oftheActisatoddswithArticle 8.2oftheAgreement which states thatprice
undertakingscannotbeacceptedbeforeapreliminaryaffirmativefindingofdumping,injuryandcausality
hasbeenmade.
How doestheMalaysian Government explain thisinconsistency?
Retroactivity
Question 13
Section 14onretroactive imposition ofcountervailing andA-Dduties appears nottocontain
theprovisionsofArticle10.2oftheAgreementwhichplaceatime-limitonhowfarbacktheretroactivity
maygo.
Whyisthisso?
Injury: cumulation
Question 14
TheMalaysian rulesappear nottocontain theprovisions ofArticle 3.3oftheAgreement dealing
withcumulation oftheeffects ofimports where more thanonecountry isinvolved.G/ADP/W/158/Suppl.1
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Definition ofdomestic industry
Question 15
Section 2(1)(c) oftheActdoesnotinclude thedetails onregional producers which isstated
inArticle 4.1(ii) oftheAgreement. Thisoversight isnotcorrected forintheRegulations.
Whyisthisso?