RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/AHG/W/47
22April 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1632)
Original: English Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
AdHocGroup onImplementation
TOPIC 1*-ARTICLE 6.5: TREATMENT OFCONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
TOPIC 2*-PERIOD OFDATA COLLECTION
TOPIC 3*-ARTICLE 6.10: SAMPLING METHOD
TOPIC 4*-ARTICLE 5.6: SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
TOPIC 5*-ARTICLE 5.5: NOTIFICATION TOTHE EXPORTING MEMBER
TOPIC 6*-ARTICLE 6.2:HEARINGS
TOPIC 7*-ARTICLE 6.9: PROVISION OFESSENTIAL FACTS
TOPIC 10*-ARTICLE 9:DUTY ASSESSMENTS
Paper byAustralia
Thefollowing communication, wasreceived 22April 1998 from thePermanent Mission of
Australia.
_______________
TOPIC 1-ARTICLE 6.5:TREATMENT OFCONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
SeeG/ADP/AHG/W/29.
TOPIC 2-PERIOD OFDATA COLLECTION
Action ondiscovery ofaninappropriate period
Early contact withexporters maypermit some refinement oftheinvestigation period given
theexporter 'sparticular circumstances. However, thiswould notnormally happen given thetime
constraints applying.
Investigation periods fortenders
Applications concerning tenders havebeenlimited innumber. There arenospecial guidelines
concerning anyminimum period ofinvestigation inthese cases.
Investigation period forreviews andrefunds
Areview ofnormal values should setthesame investigation period astheconsideration of
anapplication formeasures. Accordingly, information oncosts tomake andselldatamayrelate to
themostrecent fullaccounting period plustheperiod todate. Itmaybepossible tofocus upon more
recent salesdatahaving verified acosttomake andsell.
*Seedocument G/ADP/W/401 fordescriptions ofthetopics.G/ADP/AHG/W/47
Page2
Forrefunds, Australian legislation nominates asix-month importation period. Export prices mustbe
provided forthatperiod. Fornormal values, theexporters areinvited tosubmit information relating
totheperiod inquestion. Where theexporter doesnotcooperate adecision ismade onthebestavailable
information. However, Australia hasnever rejected refund applications because anexporter failed
tocooperate.
Period incaseoffluctuating exchange rates
Theexistence offluctuating exchange ratesdoesnotaffect theperiod ofdatacollection. The
treatment offluctuating exchange rates, forexample asprovided forunder Article 2.4.1, isdetermined
separately.
TOPIC 3-ARTICLE 6.10: SAMPLING METHOD
Itispermissible under Australian legislation toinclude different exporters inasample following
initiation. However, thishasnotoccurred.
TOPIC 4-ARTICLE 6.5:SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
While Australian legislation currently doesnotprovide explicitly forexofficio initiation, it
islegally possible fortheMinister toinitiate aninvestigation.
Exofficio initiation should onlybeinexceptional circumstances. Itisdifficult todefine in
advance whatthese might be,butitshould notbeameans tosimply saveindustry theeffort ofputting
together aproperly documented application receiving thesupport oftherequisite proportion ofthe
domestic industry concerned. Thegovernment would ofcourse havehadtoconduct some form of
investigation tohavesatisfied itselfthataprima faciecaseofthecircumstances ofArticle 5.2existed.
When there isanexofficio initiation there isnoobligation onthegovernment tosatisfy itself
thattheinitiation hasthesupport ofthedomestic industry analogous tothatsetoutinArticle 5.4in
respect ofanapplication byoronbehalf ofthatindustry.
TOPIC 5-ARTICLE 5.5:NOTIFICATION TOEXPORTING MEMBER
Weremain unconvinced about theissue ofobligations ontiming discussed intheGroup.
However, inthelightoftheviews expressed intheGroup, Australia haschanged itspractice andnow
notifies thegovernment oftheexporting country following thedecision thattheapplication isproperly
documented.
Thenotification isusually through theHigh Commission orEmbassy toAustralia located in
Canberra.
Once thedecision toinitiate hasbeentaken thegovernments willbenotified andacopy of
thepublic version oftheapplication provided.
Inrespect ofparagraph 10ofG/ADP/AHG/W/33, wearenotattracted totheideaofhaving
theCommittee reach agreement oninterpretation ofthetext. From thedebate intheGroup, itisclear
thatjustifications oftiming canbemade ineither direction. Theapproach andlanguage ontiming
israther different intheAgreement onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures (Articles 11.5and13.1).
However, thiswould notpreclude agreement amongst Members onguidelines onthisissue.G/ADP/AHG/W/47
Page3
TOPIC 6-ARTICLE 6.2:HEARINGS
TheAnti-Dumping Authority holds public hearings aspartofitsinquiries. Ithasnotbeen
anormal partoftheAnti-Dumping Authority 'sprocedures toholdmeetings, andquestions havebeen
raised astotheusefulness ofthemeetings thathavebeenheld.
TOPIC 7-ARTICLE 6.9:DISCLOSURE OFESSENTIAL FACTS
Theinformation thatshould beprovided aspartofthedisclosure ofessential factsdoesneed
tobedecided onacasebycasebasis. Itmaybedifficult todetermine inadvance whattheminimum
requirements would beineachjurisdiction unless theissuehadbeensubject todetailed judicial review
inthatjurisdiction.
Thestatement ofessential factscould beexpected tocover issues suchas:background regarding
theapplication; likeproduct (i.e.scope); domestic industry; market structure; export price
methodology;normalvaluemethodology;dumpingmargins;andtheeconomicsituationofthedomestic
industry, including causation andother factors.
TOPIC 10-ARTICLE 9,DUTY ASSESSMENTS
Forinformation ontheso-called "lesser dutyrule", seeG/ADP/AHG/W/29.
Animporter affected byanti-dumping dutymaycontend thatexcess interim dutyhasbeenpaid
onconsignments during aparticular "importation period". Inthiscircumstance animporter mayrequest
anassessment ofthenetdutyliability ofthose goods fortheperiod. An"importation period" iseither
theperiod ending thedaybefore anotice imposing dutyispublished oroneofthesuccessive six-month
periods firstcommencing onthedaythenotice ispublished. Anapplication forassessment mustbe
lodged within sixmonths following thecompletion oftherelevant importation period. Theassessment
willinvolve ascertaining thenormal value andexport price foreachconsignment andcalculating the
dutypayable onthebasis ofthenon-injurious price. This assessment procedure isessentially
retrospective.
__________