RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
G/SCM/Q1/ARG/6
22 June 1999
(99-2516)
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices Original:  Spanish
  Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLES 18.5 AND 32.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS
Replies to Questions Posed by the European Community1, Japan2 and
the United States3 Regarding the Notification of Argentina4
The following communication, dated 21 May 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Argentina.
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QUESTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
Decree No. 1326/1998
Article 36
Question
While the Minister of Economy and Public Works and Services decides whether or not
to accept an undertaking, procedural time-limits governing the investigation will be suspended.
Does this mean an investigation might eventually exceed the 18-month deadline fixed byArticle 5(10) of the WTO Anti-Dumping Code?
Reply
1. Article 36
Article 8.1 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement authorizes governments to suspend or terminate
the proceedings established by the Agreement upon receipt of an offer of an undertaking concerning
prices from the exporter.
Chapter 5 of Decree No. 1326/1998 regulates the process to be followed in the case of an
offer of an undertaking concerning prices from the government of an exporting country.  In
accordance with Article 8.1 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement, Article 36 provides for the suspension
of the procedural time-limits governing the inve stigation during the entire period specified in that
same Article.
                                                     
1G/ADP/Q1/ARG/3-G/SCM/Q1/ARG/3
2G/ADP/Q1/ARG/5-G/SCM/Q1/ARG/5
3G/ADP/Q1/ARG/4-G/SCM/Q1/ARG/4
4G/ADP/N/1/ARG/1/Suppl.2-G/SCM/N/1/ARG/1/Suppl.2G/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
G/SCM/Q1/ARG/6
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The time-limits that Article 36 specifies for th ese purposes are those needed to enable the
offer to be assessed and the implementing authorit ies – Ministry of the Economy and Public Works
and Services or Secretariat for Industry, Trade and Mining – to reach a decision.
It emerges from both provisions (Article 8.1 of the Agreement and Article 36 of
Decree No. 1326/1998) that the suspension of the procedural time-limits is for the purpose of studying
the feasibility of the undertaking offered.
It should be pointed out that, since the provisions of the Argentine Law and those of the Anti-
Dumping Agreement coincide as regards the maximu m time-limits for the investigation (Article 5.10
of the Anti-Dumping Agreement) and the possibility of suspending the proceedings, theEuropean Community question is thus equally relevant to the Argentine legislation and the
interpretation of the Anti-Dumping Agreement itself.
In other words, the question is whether the suspension of the proceedings referred to in
Article 8.1 of the Agreement does or does not affect the maximum time-limits established inArticle 5.10.
In any case, even if there should be some doubt regarding the scope of the provisions of the
Agreement itself, it is the intention of the Government of Argentina to respect the time-limits of
Article 5.10.
Article 67
Question
Does the stipulation in Article 67(c) that a practice should tend to undermine the
remedial effects of the measure applied also apply to the situations outlined in Article 67(a) and
67(b)?
Reply
2. Article 67:
Article 67 of Decree No. 1326/1998 must be unders tood as a whole.  The Article begins with
the words:
"A measure in force shall be considered to be circumvented when:
(a) … ;  or(b) …"
It is quite clear that both the case described in paragraph (a) and that described in
paragraph (b) are to be understood as a circumvention of measures in force, since they constitute the
two best known ways or possibilities of doing so.
The disjunctive "or" before paragraph (c) makes this a supposition distinct from the earlier
ones.  It refers to all those practices which, without being categorized in the cases described in the
earlier paragraphs, are ways of circumventing measures in force.  In this case, since they are not
specifically described, it is required that the practice should "tend to undermine the remedial effects of
the measure applied".G/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
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QUESTION FROM JAPAN
Articles 67-74 in Decree 1326/98 provide the definition of circumvention and the
proceeding of anti-circumvention investigation.   However, WTO agreements including the Anti-
Dumping (A-D) Agreement have no provisions on  anti-circumvention measure.  Although we
requested an answer on its consistency with th e A-D Agreement at the A-D Committee held in
October 1995, we did not receive a direct answer.
Question
How could Argentina justify these provisions under the A-D Agreement?  If Argentina
gives us the same answer as in G/ADP/W/286, please explain the relationship between the power
of the implementing authority under Article 5.6 of the A-D Agreement and the provisions on
anti-circumvention measures in Decree 1326/98.
Reply
Articles 67-74 of Decree No. 1326/1998 establish the procedure to be followed in the event
that none of the situations provided for in Article 67 can be proved.
Argentina considers that this procedure is compatib le with both the spirit and the letter of the
Anti-Dumping Agreement.
QUESTIONS FROM THE UNITED STATES
Question
On 12 June 1995, Argentina notified the Co mmittees on Anti-Dumping Practices and
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures of Decree No. 106/95 Issuing the Regulations of Law
No. 24,176 (G/ADP/N/1/ARG/1-G/SCM/N/1/ARG/1, p ages 23-43).  Decree No. 106/95 contained
several provisions governing the conduct of anti-dumping and countervailing duty
investigations in Argentina.  Decree No. 1326/ 98 ("the 1998 Decree"), the subject of Argentina's
current notification (G /ADP/N/1/ARG/1/Suppl. 2-G/SCM/N/1/ ARG/1/Suppl. 2), does not refer
to Decree 106/95.
(a) Please explain the relationship of Decree N o. 1326/98 with Decree No. 106/95.  Does the
Decree No. 1326/89 amend or supersede Decree No. 106/95 in any fashion?
Reply
1.(a) Decree No. 1326/98 replaces Decree No. 2121 /94, as amended by Decree No. 106/95, laying
down the regulations for Law No. 24,176 by which Argentina approved the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and  Trade and the Agreement onInterpretation and Implementation of Articles VI, XVI and XXIII of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (Tokyo Round).
Decree No. 106/95 had replaced Article 77 of De cree No. 212/94.  The said provision referred
to the powers of the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade and of the recently established NationalCommission for Foreign Trade vis-à-vis  the date of entry into force of Decree No. 2121/94.
As is apparent from its preamble and Article 79, Decree No. 1326/98 establishes the
regulations for the implementation of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GeneralG/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
G/SCM/Q1/ARG/6
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Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
of the Uruguay Round, approved by Argentina in its Law No. 24,425.  It is applicable to
investigations and reviews of existing measures initiated as a result of applications submitted after the
date of its entry into force, namely, 4 December 1998.  Decree No. 2121/94, as amended by DecreeNo. 106/95, is not applicable to such investigations and reviews.
Decree No. 2121/94 (as amended by  Decree No. 106/95) continues to apply to investigations
and reviews of existing measures initiated before the entry into force of Decree No. 1326/98.
(b) Are the provisions in Title I, Chapter III of the Decree No. 106/95 concerning
injury and causality still effective?
Reply
1.(b) The question is not understood.  Decree No. 106/95 contains neither Chapters nor Titles
concerning injury and causality.
Question 2
Article 3 of the 1998 Decree states that the application shall be submitted in accordance
with "guidelines, requirements and formalities to be established for that purpose by theUndersecretariat and the Commission …"
(a) When do the Undersecretariat and the Commission plan to establish these
guidelines, requirements, and formalities?
(d) What provisions currently govern applicat ions for the initiation of dumping and
subsidy investigations pending final establishment of the guidelines?
Reply
2.(a) and (d)
The guidelines, requirements and formalities mentioned in Article 3 of Decree No. 1326/98
have recently been approved by Resolution No. 224 of 8 April 1999 of the Secretariat for Industry,
Trade and Mining.  This Resolution was published in the Official Journal of the Argentine Republic
on 15 April 1999 and came into force on 27 April last, i.e. two days ago.
Resolution No. 224/99 repeals Resolution No. 349 of 12 November 1991 of the Secretariat
for Industry and Trade, which contained the general guidelines for the submission of an application
for initiation of an investigation for dumping or subvention, prior to that date.
(b) How will these guidelines be made known to interested parties that appear
before the Undersecretariat and the Commission?
(c) What will the legal effect of these guidelines be?  What is their relationship to the
1998 Decree and any other provisions of Argentine law?G/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
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(e) The 1998 Decree itself does not contain any specific provisions governing the
content of applications.  How does Argentine law currently comply with
requirements of Article 5.2 of the A-D Agreement and Article 11.2 of the
SCM Agreement concerning the specific information that must be included insuch applications?
Reply
2.(b), (c) and (e)
Decree No. 224/99 has been published in the Official Journal.  The texts will be supplied to
interested parties that appear before the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade and the National
Commission for Foreign Trade.
Decree No. 224/99 approves the forms that are to be completed by an applicant when
submitting a request for initiation of an investigation into dumping and/or subsidization.  These formsare to be found in Annexes 1 to 6 of the Decree.  It likewise approves a set of instructions (Annex 7)
which contains the requirements that the applicant must observe when filling in the forms.  It will be
notified to the WTO in the next few days.
Decree No. 224/99, described above, was prom ulgated in fulfilment of Decree No. 1326/98,
containing specific regulation for the implementation of Law No. 24.425, notified at the proper time
to WTO and appearing in document G/ADP/N/ARG/1 /Suppl.1.  It refines the requirements for the
submission of applications for initiation of an investigation, thus avoiding successive requests for
information by the implementing authority and facilitating the procedure.  The promulgation of the
Decree and its entry into force constitute the fulf ilment of the requirements of Article 5.2 of the Anti-
Dumping Agreement and Article 11 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
Question 3
Although the 1998 Decree refers to the domestic industry, it does not define that term.
(a) How does the Argentine law conform with the requirements of Article 4.1 of the
A-D Agreement and Article 16.1 of the SCM Agreement concerning the
definitions of the domestic industry?
(b) Does the Argentine law contemplate a finding for regional industries as
permitted by Article 4.2 of the A-D Agreement and Article 16.3 of theSCM Agreement?
Question 4
Article 8 of the Argentine law states that  the Commission shall examine the accuracy
and adequacy of evidence with respect to "dam age caused by the imports."  Does Argentina
intend the term "damage caused by the imports" to be consistent with the definition of material
injury contained in Article 3, No. 9 of the A-D Agreement and Article 15, No. 45 of the
SCM Agreement?G/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
G/SCM/Q1/ARG/6
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Reply
(3) and (4)
Argentina ratified both Agreements by Law No. 24,425 as a result of which they became part
of national legislation.  Decree No. 1360/98 is simply regulatory:  it does not amend the Law which
reproduces the integral texts of the Agreements.  All aspects which the Decree does not regulate or
which might give rise to doubts concerning its interpretation, are governed by the terms of the Law,
i.e. the texts of the Agreements.
Question 5
The term, "interested parties", in Article 15 of the 1998 Decree appears to limit that
term to producers, exporters and importers.  How does Argentina define the term "interested
parties"?
Reply
(5)
The definition given by Decree No. 1326/98 is broad and non-restrictive, in that it does not
give a specific description of who the interested parties are.  In every investigation, the interested
parties themselves are involved in the case.  If it is decided that the opening of an investigation is
inadmissible, the decision would be communicated to those parties whose names appear in the
application.  In the opposite case – if it is decided to open an investigation – the implementing
authority assesses the situation and decides to communicate the measure to other possible interestedparties, even if they do not appear in the document (users, consumers, etc.).
Question 6
What type of tribunal will hear the appeals of decisions involving anti-dumping and
countervailing duty decisions?  What type of procedural mechanisms are in place for an
appeal?
Question 7
Please describe whether and how the appellate tribunal(s) are independent from the
authorities responsible for the anti-dumping or countervailing duty determination or review
that is subject to appeal as required by Article 13 of the A-D Agreement and Article 23 of the
SCM Agreement.
Reply
(6) and (7)
Argentina has adopted a representative, republican and federal form of government.  The
National Government is made up of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary, all of which act
independently.
Decree No. 1759/72, implementing Law No. 19,549 (G/ADP/N/1/ARG/1 ), regulates the
various ways of challenging administratively the acts of organs of the public administration.  It is
applicable to action taken within the framework of Decree No. 1326/98.G/ADP/Q1/ARG/6
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In the same way, Article 61 of Decree No. 1326/98 expressly states that, once the
administrative remedy has been exhausted, the interested parties can appeal to the courts against
decisions that are subject to appeal.
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