RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
G/SCM/Q1/MAR/4
16 May 2001
(01-2507)
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing MeasuresOriginal:  French
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLES 18.5 AND 32.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS
Replies to Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES1 and the
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES2 Regarding the Notification of MOROCCO3
The following communication, dated 26 April 2001, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Morocco.
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QUESTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES
Q1. Title II of the Annex relating to Article 15 as amended by the Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89
is entitled “Measures to safeguard domestic industry”. Please confirm that Article 15 is intended not
only to cover safeguard measures permitted under the Safeguards Agreement, but also AD/CVD
matters as well.
Q2. The new paragraph of Article 15 of the Foreign Trade Law immediately below paragraph (5)
provides Moroccan authorities with the authority to take “provisional emergency” measures inantidumping and countervailing duty investigations “in order to ensure the protection of the domestic
industry”.
(a) How does Morocco comply with the provisions of Art. 7.1(ii) of the AD Agreement
and Art. 17.1(b) of the SCM Agreement that there be a preliminary affirmativedetermination of injury and subsidy and/or dumping before provisional measures are
imposed?
(b) How does Morocco comply with the provisions of Art. 7.3 of the AD Agreement and
Art. 17.3 of the SCM Agreement that provisional measures not be applied sooner than
60 days from the date of initiation of the investigation?
(c) How does Morocco comply with the provisions of Art. 7.4 of the AD Agreement and
Art. 17.4 of the SCM Agreement concerni ng the maximum duration of provisional
measures?
                                                     
1 G/ADP/Q1/MAR/2 - G/SCM/Q1/MAR/2.
2 G/ADP/Q1/MAR/3 - G/SCM/Q1/MAR/3.
3 G/ADP/N/1/MAR/2/Rev.1;  G/SCM/N/1/MAR/2/Rev.1.G/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
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Page 2
(d) Please confirm that provisional measures will be limited to a provisional duty or a
security by cash deposit or bond in accordance with Article 7 of the AD Agreement
and Article 17 of the SCM Agreement.
Q3. How does the relief authorized in the penultimate paragraph of Article 15 of the Foreign
Trade Law, which permits the authorities to require a “prior import declaration for imports of
products which cause or threaten to cause injury to the domestic industry,” differ from the imposition
of provisional measures?  How is such relief consistent with the AD and SCM Agreements?  Is this a
remedy in addition to the remedies permitted under the Agreements?
Q4. Article 22 of “Title V of Decree No. 2-93-415: Modalities for the Application of AD/CVD
Duties” addresses applications.  However, this Article does not appear to require all of the informationspecified in Article 5.2 of the AD Agreement and 11.2 of the SCM Agreement.  Please confirm that
applications are required to contain the information specified in those provisions?
Q5. Title V of Decree No. 2-93-415 does not mention the standing requirements of Article 5.4 of
the AD Agreement and 11.4 of the SCM Agreement.  How does Morocco intend to carry out theobligations of those provisions?
Q6. Please confirm that governments of exporting countries will be notified of receipt of an
application prior to initiation of an antidumping investigation in accordance with Article 5.6 of the
AD Agreement.
Q7. New Article 15(3) of the Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89 (“Foreign Trade Law”) appears to
make the same injury standard applicable in safeguards investigations as in antidumping and
countervailing duty investigations.
(a) Do the Moroccan authorities in fact use the same injury standard for antidumping,
countervailing duty, and safeguards investigations?
(b) Does Morocco believe that the injury standards of Article 3 of the AD Agreement,
Article 15 of the SCM Agreement, and Article 4 of the Agreement on Safeguards are
the same?
(c) If not, please explain the different injury standards that Morocco uses for
antidumping, countervailing duty, and safe guards investigations and how those
standards relate to the standards set forth in the AD, SCM, and Safeguards
Agreements respectively ?
Q8. The only standard in Moroccan law or regulations concerning injury determinations in
antidumping and countervailing duty investigations appears to be that of the introductory paragraph of
Article 15 of the Foreign Trade Law, which states that imports must “cause or threaten to causematerial injury to an established domestic industry or materially retard the establishment of a
domestic injury.”
(a) How does Morocco implement the provisions of Article 3 of the AD Agreement and
Article 15 of the SCM Agreement concerning the factors that investigating authoritiesare to consider in making injury determinations?
(b) How does Morocco implement the provisions of Arts. 3.7 and 3.8 of the
AD Agreement and Arts. 15.7 and 15.8 of the SCM Agreement concerning theG/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
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factors that investigating authorities are to consider in making determinations of
threat of material injury?
Q9. Moroccan law and regulations do not appear to have any provisions explaining how a
“domestic industry” is defined for purposes of Article 15 of the Foreign Trade Law.
(a) How does Morocco implement the requirements of Arts. 2.6 and 4.1 of the
AD Agreement and Arts. 15.1 and 16.1 of the SCM Agreement that the domestic
industry be defined in terms of production of “like products?”
(b) Does Morocco permit exclusion from the domestic industry of producers that are
related to exporters or importers, or are themselves importers of the product under
investigation, pursuant to Art. 4.1 of the AD Agreement and Art. 16.1 of theSCM Agreement?  If so, under what circumst ances will such exclusions take place?
Q10. Article 25 of the “Modalities for the Application of Anti-Dumping and Countervailing
Duties” states that the Consultative Commission on Imports “may decide to hold a prior public
enquiry” with respect to antidumping and countervailing duty applications. Does this mean that it is
within the discretion of the Consultative Commissi on to determine whether to hold a public inquiry?
If so, how is this consistent with Art. 6.2 of the AD Agreement and Art. 12.2 of the SCM Agreement
that accord interested parties the right, on justifica tion, to present information orally to investigating
authorities?
Q11. In conducting its public inquiry, must the Consultative Commission on Imports develop a
record including all documents received by the Commission and transcripts or memoranda or reports
recording or memorializing any meetings held by th e Commission and any interested party?  Is such a
record available to the public?  Does it allow for protection of business proprietary information
submitted by parties?
Q12. The second paragraph of Article 25 of the “Modalities” states that notice of any public inquiry
will be made “through the press.”  What press medium does Morocco use to provide this notice?
Q13. The second paragraph of Article 25 also states that the notice “shall state the time-limit for
submissions of any observations concerning the application.”
(a) Who may file such written submissions?
(b) Are such written submissions authorized in proceedings in which the Consultative
Commission does not determine to hold a public inquiry?  If not, how does Morocco
implement the requirements of Art. 6.1 of the AD Agreement and Art. 12.1 of the
SCM Agreement that interested parties be presented the opportunity to present in
writing evidence which they consider relevant concerning the investigation?
(c) Do those filing written submissions have the opportunity to see the application and
whatever other information the Moroccan authorities have collected?  If not, how
does Morocco implement the requirements of Art. 6.4 of the AD Agreement and
Art. 12.3 of the SCM Agreement that authorities provide timely opportunity to
interested parties to enable them to see all non-confidential information relevant to
the presentation of their cases?
Q14. How does Morocco implement the provisions of Art. 6.5 of the AD Agreement and Art. 12.4
of the SCM Agreement concerning submission of confidential information?G/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
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Q15. How does Morocco implement the provisions of Art. 6.9 of the AD Agreement and Art. 12.8
of the SCM Agreement concerning informing interested parties of the essential facts under
consideration?
Q16. Article 26 of the “Modalities” appears to state that the Consultative Commission shall provide
its opinion on an application for anti-dumping or countervailing duties within four months of
receiving the application from the minister in charge of foreign trade.
(a) Is the Consultative Commission’s opinion final, or is it subject to review and/or
revision by the minister?
(b) If the minister has the ability to review and/or revise the Consultative Commission’s
opinion, what are the standards and procedures applicable to such a review?  Can
interested parties participate in the review process?
(c) Does Morocco publish the final determination on whether to issue antidumping or
countervailing duties (whether it be issued by the Consultative Commission or the
minister)?  How does Morocco implement the provisions of Art. 12 of theAD Agreement and Art. 22 of the SCM Agreement concerning public notice and
explanation of determinations?
Q17. How does Morocco implement the provisions of Art. 13 of the AD Agreement and Art. 23 of
the SCM Agreement concerning judicial or administrative review of determinations?
Q18. Article 29 of the “Modalities” states that  antidumping and countervailing duty measures
“shall remain in force as long as the measures justifying them persist.”  How is this consistent with
Art. 11.3 of the AD Agreement and Art. 21.3 of the SCM Agreement that measures shall not remain
in force beyond five years unless the authorities determine in a review proceeding that continuation of
the measures is necessary?
Q19. Article 11 of Decree No. 2-93-415 concerning  the Consultative Commission on Imports states
that the work of the Consultative Commission shall be governed by rules of procedures which the
Commission shall establish with approval of the ministry responsible for foreign trade.  Has the
Commission approved any such rules of procedure?  If so, when will Morocco notify them to these
Committees?
Q20. How has Morocco implemented the provisions of Art. 5.8 of the AD Agreement and Art. 11.9
of the SCM Agreement requiring immediate terminat ion of a proceeding when the margin of dumping
or amount of subsidy is de minimis  or when the volume of imports is negligible?
QUESTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Q1. Could Morocco please explain whether prior import declaration may be requested also in the
context of investigations leading to anti-dumping and countervailing duties?
A
PPLICATIONS FOR BENEFITING FROM MEASURES UNDER ARTICLE 15 OF LAW NO 13-89
Q2. Article 22 of Decree no. 2-93-415 on modalities for the application of anti-dumping and
countervailing duties, states that an application to benefit from the safeguard measures provided for
under Article 15 of Law No 13-89 " shall contain evidence of the existence of (a) dumping, (b) a
subsidy or bounty, and (c) a causal link between the imported product that is dumped or receives asubsidy or bounty and the injury suffered. "G/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
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Page 5
Could Morocco please explain how it intend s to comply with Article 5.2 of the WTO
Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 11.2 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing
measures, in particular as concerns the evidence which an application shall contain to justify theinitiation of an investigation? In general term s, could Morocco also explain how it reconciles
Articles 22 and 23 of the Decree with its obligations under  Article 5 of the WTO Anti-Dumping
Agreement and Article 11 of WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures?
Q3. Article 30 of the Decree provides that " The provisions of this Title shall apply to parts or
components for the assembly or finishing of any product subject to an anti-dumping or countervailing
duty".
Could Morocco please explain how it intends to apply this provision in relation to Article 5 of
the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 11 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures?
I
MPOSITION OF MEASURES
Q4. Article 24.1 of the Decree provides that " If the Minister concerned provides evidence of the
existence of dumping, a subsidy or bounty and injury caused to the domestic industry, the safeguard
measures provided under Article 15 of the aforementioned Law No. 13-89 shall be applied forthwithby order of the Minister for Finance, following consultation with the Minister or Ministers
concerned ".
Could Morocco please explain how it reconciles this provision with its obligations under
Articles 7 and 9 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement and Articles 17 and 19 of the WTOAgreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures?
M
ETHODOLOGY TO DETERMINE MARGIN OF DUMPING AND AMOUNT OF SUBSIDY
Q5. Article 24(3) of the above Decree states that "When applying the safeguard measures
provided in the first paragraph above, the am ount of the anti-dumping duty shall not under any
circumstances exceed the margin of dumping and the amount of the countervailing duty shall not
under any circumstances exceed the amount of the subsidy or bounty."
Could Morocco please explain which is the methodology you will follow to determine the
margin de dumping and the amount of subsidy?
PUBLIC ENQUIRY
Q6. In Article 25 of the Decree it is stated that " the Consultative Commission on Imports may
decide to hold a prior public enquiry in respect of any applications referred to it for its opinion" and
that "For this purpose, a model questionnaire shall be  made available to interested persons at the
head office of the Ministry responsible for foreign trade.  The duly completed questionnaire shall be
submitted to the Consultative Commission on Imports before the expiry of the time-limit specified in
the previous paragraph ."
Article 26 states that "The Consultative Commission on Imports shall give its reasoned
opinion to the Minister responsible of foreign trade within a maximum of four (4) months from the
date of referral".G/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
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Could Morocco please explain how it reconciles this article with its obligations under
Article 6 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreemen t and Article 12 of the WTO Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures Agreement?
DURATION OF THE DUTIES AND REVIEWS
Q7. Article 29 of the decree provides that "Anti-dumping and countervailing duties imposed under
the provisions of this Title shall remain in force as long as the measures justifying them persist" .
Could Morocco please explain how it reconciles this article with its obligations under
Article 11.3 of the WTO Anti-dumping Agreemen t and Article 21.3 of the WTO Subsidies and
Countervailing Measures Agreement? What provisions have been made for review of anti-dumping or
countervailing duties?
IMPOSING DUTIES ON PARTS AND COMPONENTS
Q8. Could Morocco please explain under which circumstances would the provisions of Article 30
of the Decree "The provisions of this Title shall apply to parts or components for the assembly or
finishing of any product subject to an anti-dumping or countervailing duty" be applied? Has Morocco
ever applied this provision?
G/SCM/N/1/MAR/3
Q9. The notification of Article 15 of the Foreign Trade Law No 13-89 (as amended) and of
Title V of Decree No. 2-93-415 does not contain an explicit  provision which would limit the
imposition of countervailing duties to subsidies which are specific in accordance with Article 1.2 of
the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures .
Could Morocco please confirm that only imports which benefit from specific subsidies in the
meaning of Article 2 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures may be subject to
countervailing duties?
Q10. The notification of Article 15 of the Foreign Trade Law No 13-89 (as amended) states on
page three that imports may be subject to:
- "Tariff or non-tariff measures if a massive increase in imports of directly like
competitive products is noted"  (Article 15 (3));
- "Non-tariff measures in the case of imports entering duty free under agreements
concluded between Morocco and other countrie s prior to the entry into force of this
Law" (Article 15(4));
- "A duty to be added to the tariff equivalent referred to under Article 5 if a significant
decrease in the price of the products referred to in Article 7 is noted."(Article 15(5)).
(a) Can Morocco please explain the relationship between these three provisions and
paragraphs 1 ("Countervailing duties") and 2 ("Anti-dumping duties") of Article 15 of
the Foreign Trade Law No 13-89 (as amended)?
(b) Under which circumstances can "tariff or non-tariff measures " under Article 15(3) of
the Foreign Trade Law No 13-89 (as amended) be adopted?G/ADP/Q1/MAR/4
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(c) Under which circumstances can "non-tariff measures" under Article 15(4) of the
Foreign Trade Law No 13-89 (as amended) be adopted?
(d) Under which circumstances can "a duty [] be added" under Article 15(5) of the
Foreign Trade Law No 13-89 (as amended)?
(e) What is the legal basis for Articles 15(3), 15(4) and 15(5) of the Foreign Trade Law
No 13-89 (as amended) in the WTO Agreements?
Replies
Morocco's anti-dumping legislation is based on the provisions of Article VI of the
GATT 1947 on anti-dumping and countervailing measures.
Article 15 of Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89 and Title V of Decree No. 2-93-415
implementing the Law were drafted in 1989 and entered into force in 1993, well before the adoption
of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Implementa tion of Article VI of the GATT 1994 which
establishes the rules and disciplines for the application of anti-dumping measures.  Consequently, theprovisions of the Law could not include the rules adopted subsequently.
Hence, and following Article VI of the GATT 1947, Article 15 of the Law, entitled "measures
to safeguard domestic industry", lays down the general principle of the possibility of taking
anti-dumping action without defining the context and modalities for doing so.  The notion of"safeguard measures" within the meaning of Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89 covers anti-dumping and
countervailing measures as well as safeguard measures as such.
Since its entry into force in 1993, the provisions of Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89 relating to
anti-dumping practices have never been applied.  If Morocco has to apply anti-dumping measures, it
will apply the rules and procedures of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT
1994.
Since Morocco signed the Marrakesh Agreements, the Agreement on Implementation of
Article VI of the GATT 1994 has been an integral part of the Moroccan legal system and its
provisions prevail over the anti-dumping provisi ons in Article 15 of Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89
and Title V of its implementing Decree No. 2-93-415.
The fact that anti-dumping measures have never been imposed does not mean that no request
has ever been made for doing so.  Requests for the adoption of anti-dumping measures have been
submitted concerning some ten products.
However, these requests did not contain sufficient evidence within the meaning of Article 5.2
of the Agreement to justify proceeding with anti-dumping measures.
With a view to integrating the provisions of the Agreement on Interpretation of Article VI of
the GATT 1994 into domestic legislation, Morocco has drafted legislation on trade defence measures,including in particular anti-dumping measures, which contains the provisions of the Agreement.
This new draft law and its implementing decree will repeal and replace the anti-dumping
provisions laid down in Article 15 of Foreign Trade Law No. 13-89 and Title V of its implementing
decree.
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