RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/AHG/W/23
30September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4088)
Original: English Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
AdHocGroup onImplementation
TIMELINE, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, AND LESSER
DUTY RULE (PARAGRAPH 3OFWTO/AIR/643)
Information Provided byJAPAN
Thefollowing communication, dated 24September 1997, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission ofJapan.
_______________
1. Timeline ofAnti-Dumping Investigation
(1) Application
Adocumented application shallinclude sufficient evidence withregard tothefactof
theimportation ofthedumped product andthefactofmaterial injury, etc.tothe
domestic industry caused bysuchimportation.
[Cf.TheCustoms Tariff Law(hereinafter referred tointhissection as"theLaw")
Article 8.4]
[Cf.TheGuidelineforProceduresRelatingtoCountervailingandAnti-DumpingDuties
(hereinafter referred tointhissection as"theGuideline") 5.(1)-(4)]
(2) Notification tothegovernment oftheexporting Member concerned before initiation
ofaninvestigation
- Thedecision onwhether ornottoinitiate aninvestigation shall bemade within
approximately twomonths fromthedateofreceipt oftheapplication, andnotification
tothegovernment oftheexporting member concerned shallbeprovided assoonas
possible before thedecision ofinitiation.
[Cf.Thedirect application oftheAnti-Dumping Agreement Article 5.5][Cf.the
Guideline 6.(1)]
(Reference)
- Under theTokyo Round Anti-Dumping Agreement, Japan provided, onitsown
judgement, notification before initiation ofaninvestigation.
- Japan intends toprovide notification before initiation ofthereview investigation (the
LawArticle 8.22) andthenewsuppliers investigation (theLaw, Article 8.13).G/ADP/AHG/W/23
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(3) Initiation ofaninvestigation
- When sufficient evidence withregard tothefactofthematerial injury, etc.tothe
domestic industry caused bythedumping issubmitted, ifitisfound tobenecessary,
thedecision toinitiate aninvestigation shallbemade. [Cf.theLaw, Article 8.5.]
- When adecision toinitiate aninvestigation ismade, awritten notification tothe
interested parties aswellasapublic notice intheOfficial Gazette regarding theinitiation
ofaninvestigation andthedetails oftheinvestigation, shallbepromptly provided.
Asageneral rule,thedayonwhich theinvestigation isinitiated isthesame dayas
thatforboththenotification andthepublic notice. [Cf.theCabinet Order Relating
toAnti-Dumping Duty (hereinafter referred tointhissection as"theCabinet Order")
Article 8.1.]
(4) Answers toquestionnaires andwritten submissions
- After initiation ofaninvestigation, questionnaires aresenttotheinterested parties.
Theinterested parties shallreply tothequestionnaires nolaterthan30days*after
receipt. However, iftheinterested parties haveaspecial reason forbeing unable to
submit theirresponse within thestated term, theyshallprovide thereason andthedate
bywhich theyareabletosubmit theresponse within thedeadline prescribed inthe
questionnaire.
Asageneral rule,thedeadline isnolaterthan15daysafterreceipt ofthequestionnaire.
*Note Regarding thedateofreceipt ofaquestionnaire, wedeem thattheinterested parties
should havereceived thequestionnaire within oneweek fromthedayonwhich itwas
sent,thisaccording totheNote oftheAnti-Dumping Agreement, Article 6.1.1.
[Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 10.2] [Cf.thedirect application oftheAnti-Dumping
Agreement, Article 6.1.1]
- Theinterested parties areallowed tosubmit anyrelevant evidence inwriting within
thetermwhich isprescribed inboththenotification andpublic notice forinitiation
ofaninvestigation. Asageneral rule,thetermisapproximately twomonths from
thedateofinitiation ofaninvestigation.
[Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 8.1(7)] [CftheCabinet Order, Article 10.1]
(5) Oralevidence
- Theinterested parties areallowed topresent anyrelevant oralevidence within theterm
which isprescribed inboththenotification andthepublic notice forinitiation ofan
investigation. Asageneral rule,thetermisapproximately twomonths fromthedate
ofinitiation ofaninvestigation. [Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 8.1(7)] [Cf.theCabinet
Order, Article 10.1]
(6) Meeting withparties withadverse interests
- Apart from theabove-mentioned oralevidence, theinterested parties areallowed to
request anopportunity tomeet theother interested parties withopposing views
concerning thematters oftheinvestigation within thetermwhich isprescribed bothG/ADP/AHG/W/23
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inthenotification andthepublic notice fortheinitiation ofaninvestigation. Asa
general rule,thetermisapproximately twomonths from thedateofinitiation ofan
investigation.
Inaddition, themeeting isheldafteralltheinterested parties havehadanopportunity
toseeallevidence, except anyconfidential information.
[Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 8.1(7)] [Cf.theCabinet Order, Articles 12.1-3]
(7) Preliminary determination anddecision onwhether totakeprovisional measures
- If,onthebasis ofsufficient evidence, itcanbepresumed thatthere isthefactofthe
importationofthedumpedproductandthefactofthematerialinjuryetc.tothedomestic
industrycausedbysuchimportationand,ifitisfoundnecessarytoprotectsuchdomestic
industry, onlythenmayprovisional measures betaken. Adecision onwhether ornot
totakeprovisional measures maybemade nosooner than60daysfrom thedateof
initiationofaninvestigation.Detailsofprovisionalmeasuresshallbepromptlyprovided
andshallbeprescribed bothinanotification totheinterested parties andinapublic
notice intheOfficial Gazette.
[Cf.theLaw, Article 8.9] [Cf.TheCabinet Order, Article 16]
(8) Disclosure ofessential facts
- Theessential factsonwhich thefinaldetermination isbased shallbenotified inwriting
totheinterested parties sufficiently before thefinaldetermination. Asageneral rule,
theyarenotified approximately twomonths before thefinaldetermination. The
disclosure provides specific information onthefactofdumping, thefactofmaterial
injury, etc.tothedomestic industry andthecausality between them, including
methodology ofcalculating thedumping margin. Theinterested parties areallowed
tomake arebuttal concerning thedetails ofthedisclosure within theterm. Asageneral
rule,thetermisbetween tendaysandtwoweeks fromthedateofdisclosure, which
isprescribed inthenotification ofdisclosure.
[Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 15]
(Reference)
- Under theTokyo Round Anti-Dumping Agreement, Japan conducted, onitsown
judgement, adisclosure ofimportant factsbefore thefinaldetermination.
(9) Final determination
- Aninvestigation shall beconcluded within oneyearafterthedateofitsinitiation.
However, theperiod maybeextended atmostsixmonths ifitisfound necessary for
special reasons. [Cf.theLaw, Article 8.6]
- After finaldetermination, thedetails ofsuchshallbepromptly notified inwriting to
theinterested parties. Asageneral rule,theyarenotified onthedayonwhich the
finaldetermination hasbeenmade. [Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 16]G/ADP/AHG/W/23
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(10) Public notice ofdetermination
- After finaldetermination, thedetails ofsuchshallbepromptly notified publicly inthe
Official Gazette. Asageneral rule, theyarenotified within fivedays after the
determination. [Cf.theCabinet Order, Article 16]
2. Treatment ofConfidential Information
Withregard tothetreatment ofconfidential information,when anyinformation provided comes
under bothofthefollowing cases, Japan willtreatitasconfidential information inpractice.
(1) Such information which isnotknown publicly andwhich isprotected bytheperson
whoprovided theinformation.
(2) Such information which fallswithin either ofthefollowing cases:
- Itisrecognized thatdisclosure ofanyinformation would certainly provide a
significant competitive advantage tocompetitors, orwould certainly havea
significant harmful effect upon thedirect supplier oftheinformation orthe
original supplier oftheinformation.
- When anyinformation isprovided asconfidential information byanyinterested
party, andtheauthority recognizes thatthere isenough reason fortreating it
asconfidential information.
(Reference)
Forexample thefollowing information isconsidered tobeconfidential.
- Costofmanufacturing
- Sales expenses
- Actual transaction prices
- Names ofcustomers orsuppliers
- Other business proprietary information
3. Lesser Duty Rule
Under Japanese law,theprovision related tothisissue isArticle 8.1oftheCustoms Tariff
Law. Itprescribes ananti-dumping dutyinanamount equivalent toorlessthanthedifference between
thenormal price andtheprice ofthedumped product.
Inthepastcases, Japan imposed anti-dumping duties inanamount equivalent tothedifference
between thenormal price andtheprice ofthedumped product.