RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/AHG/W/21
26September 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4021)
Original: English Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
AdHoc Group onImplementation
TIMELINE, CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION, AND LESSER
DUTY RULE (PARAGRAPH 3OFWTO/AIR/643)
Information Provided bytheEUROPEAN COMMUNITY
Thefollowing communication, dated 24September 1997, hasbeen received from thePermanent
Delegation oftheEuropean Commission.
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Confidentiality: information which is"confidential bynature"
1. Background
AssetoutintheCommunity ’snote onthesubject ofconfidentiality, ourapproach isbased
ontheprinciple ofensuring thatwhen information isclassified asconfidential, itisreproduced in
summarized, non-confidential form. Theuseofindexed figures, orpossibly ranges, isrecommended
forthispurpose. Nevertheless, requests forconfidential treatment should bejustified andreasonable.
Alistoftypes ofinformation considered "confidential bynature" should notimply removal ofthe
requirement tojustify confidential status, nortoprovide accurate non-confidential summaries. Rather
itshould serve asguidance toauthorities when assessing theclaims ofparties forconfidential treatment.
2. Illustrative listofconfidential information
AssetoutinArticle 6(5)oftheAgreement, thedisclosure ofinformation which isconfidential
bynature "would beofsignificant competitive advantage toacompetitor or...would have asignificantly
adverse effect upon aperson supplying theinformation". Typically, thiscould include:
- Information oncosts, including those ofeach stage oftheproduction process;
- Information onprices, including both theprices paid bytheproducer toupstream
suppliers, andtheprices charged todownstream buyers -thenames ofthese customers
may alsobetreated asconfidential;
- Informationonperformance,includingprofitabilityofoperations,marginsonindividual
products, aswell asprospectives forinvestment andfuture strategy;
- Certaininformationsuppliedinthecontextofapublicinterestassessment(e.g.company
performance forecasts).G/ADP/AHG/W/21
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3. Information from theabove categories maynotalways beconfidential (forinstance, theprices
paidtoupstream suppliers maybeuniform andtransparent foragiven industry). Butsince allofthese
types ofdata could becommercially sensitive, revealing elements ofbusiness strategy, sources of
competitive advantage andsoon,requests forconfidential treatment inthese areas should begranted.
However, ifnon-confidential summaries ofthatinformation arenotprepared theinvestigating authorities
may reject such information.
4. This said, there remains asubstantial amount ofinformation which should notnormally be
considered asconfidential. Forinstance, data andanalysis provided bycomplainants aspartofthe
injury claim willoften beintheform ofnarrative assessment based onwidely available statistics;
company information such asannual reports andorganizational charts issimilarly public. Such
information should only begranted confidential treatment inexceptional circumstances.
TheLesser Duty Rule inAnti-Dumping Proceedings
1. Legislative provisions andprinciples
TheCommunity ’sBasic Regulation provides (inArticles 7,8and9)thatwhen imposing
provisional ordefinitive measures, oraccepting voluntary undertakings, theamount ofduty (orlevel
ofprice increase inanundertaking) shall notexceed themargin ofdumping, butshould belessthan
themargin ifsuch lesser duty would beadequate toremove theinjury totheCommunity industry.
2. Inpractice theinjury margin hasproved tobelower thanthedumping margin inapproximately
halfofallcases, andonbalance hasresulted inthehalving oftheduty level -theimportance ofthe
ruleinmoderating thelevel ofduties applied istherefore substantial.
3. Akeyaspect oftheCommunity ’sapplication ofthelesser duty ruleisthatitmust beused
systematically, inorder toremove anypossibility ofselective application oftherule, which would
open theway fordiscriminatory treatment.
4. Outline ofprocess followed
Inordertoestablishwhetheradutylessthanthedumpingmarginisappropriate,theCommission
calculates aninjury margin, aduty equal towhich isapplied ifitisbelow thedumping margin. The
main features ofthemethod most commonly used inthepastareasfollows:
- a"non-injurious price" isassigned totheCommunity industry, established byadding
areasonable amount ofprofit forthesector concerned tothenormal weighted average
costofproduction fortheindustry;
- thedifference between thisnon-injurious price andtheaverage price ofthedumped
imports isknown astheunderselling margin -itisthiswhich isnormally used asthe
injury margin;
- thisinjury/underselling margin represents thelevel ofprice increase which should
remove injury from theCommunity industry -itistherefore deemed excessive toset
theduty ataratehigher than thisamount.G/ADP/AHG/W/21
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