./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONTN/RL/W/127
17 June 2003
(03-3243)
Negotiating Group on Rules Original:  English
REPLY TO THE QUESTIONS OF THE UNITED STATES1
CONCERNING THE PROPOSAL OF CHINA (TN/RL/W/66)
The following communication, dated 16 June 2003, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of China.
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China would like to express its appreciation to the United States for their questions on China's
anti-dumping proposal.  China hereby would like to provide the following reply.
Q1.  China’s paper raises some issues as applicable to all Members, whether developed or
developing, and some issues as the appropriate subject for special and differential (“S&D”)
treatment with respect to exports from developing country Members.  How has Chinadetermined which issues should be S&D issues , and which should be generally applicable?
Reply
The Doha Ministerial Declaration reaffirms that provisions for special and differential
treatment are an integral part of the WTO Agreements, and also notes the concerns expressed
regarding their operation in addressing specific constraints faced by developing countries, particularlyleast-developed countries.  Therefore, it requires the Negotiating Group on Rules to take into account
the needs of developing and least-developed participants during negotiations.  To fulfil such mandate,
China contributes some ideas for discussion.
According to the statistics of the WTO Secretariat, 65 per cent of the 1,979 investigations and
67 per cent of the 1,161 measures are against developing country Members from January 1995 to
June 2002.  Meanwhile, developing country Members have limited human and material resources
compared with developed country Members and always encounter tremendous obstacles in the anti-
dumping investigations.  Therefore, China believes that favourable treatment should be given to them.
China would like to listen to the views of other Members, especially developing ones, and
cooperate with all Members to promote the process of negotiations in this respect.
Q2.  With respect to the issues of lesser duty rule, price undertakings and automatic sunset of
anti-dumping measures, China proposes th at any changes apply on an S&D basis in
investigations by developed countries of exports from developing countries.  However, with
respect to the issues of increase of negligible import volume and de minimis  dumping margin,
the proposed S&D treatment does not appear to be limited to investigations conducted by
developed countries.  Please explain the different treatment of these issues.
                                                     
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Reply
The Doha Ministerial Declaration clearly states that Members should take into account the
needs of developing and least-developed participants in anti-dumping negotiations.  China believes
that the Negotiating Group should conscientiously implement such mandate and consider the ways toreflect S&D treatment in the negotiations process as well as in the final results.
To fulfil this mandate, China contributes some ideas for discussion and wants to promote the
negotiation on S&D treatment by this proposal.  Concerning whether this proposal will be applied to
investigations and measures taken by a developing country Member against another developing
country Member or not, Australia and the European Communities have raised similar questions in the
last meeting.  China would like to listen to the views and discuss with WTO Members on this issue.
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