RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/Q1/VEN/2
G/SCM/Q1/VEN/2
4November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4563)
Original: Spanish Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
NOTIFICATION OFLAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLES 18.5AND 32.6OFTHE AGREEMENTS
Replies ofVENEZUELA1toQuestions from the
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY2
Thefollowing communication, dated 21October 1996, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission ofVenezuela.
_______________
QUESTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY CONCERNING VENEZUELA 'S
ANTI-DUMPING AND SUBSIDIES AUTHORITIES AND PROCEDURES
1. Could Venezuela explain what legal form (i.e.decree, law,regulation, amendment) this
notified legislation has?
Venezuela 'santi-dumping andcountervailing measures legislation wasnotified inthefirsthalf
of1995.Atthattime,VenezuelanotifiedboththeLawapprovingtheMarrakeshAgreementEstablishing
theWorldTradeOrganization,whichincludestheWTOAnti-DumpingandSubsidiesandCountervailing
Measures Agreements, andalsotheLawonUnfair Foreign Trade Practices andtheRegulations under
theLawonUnfair Foreign Trade Practices. Astheirnames indicate, theLawonUnfair Practices
andtheRegulations havethestatus ofalawandofregulations respectively. AstotheAnti-Dumping
andSubsidies andCountervailing Measures Agreements, under ourConstitution, lawsapproving
agreements receive special treatment andrankhigher thanother lawsowing totheirnature andthe
wayinwhich theyareincorporated intheVenezuelan legalsystem. Thismeans thatsuchagreements,
oncetheyareadopted byCongress andapproved bythePresident oftheRepublic andpublished in
OfficialGazette,takeprecedenceoverdomesticlegislation.Inthisrespect,inanyinvestigationinvolving
imports fromWTO Member countries, theruleintherelevant agreement willbeapplied, either because
suchaprovision doesnotexistinVenezuelan laworbecause thelawconflicts withtherules inthe
agreements. Furthermore, ininvestigations intoimports from non-WTO countries, pre-existing
Venezuelan anti-dumping legislation willbefullyapplied.
1G/ADP/N/1/VEN/1-G/SCM/N/1/VEN/1 +Suppl.1 and2.
2G/ADP/Q1/VEN/1-G/SCM/Q1/VEN/1.
./.G/ADP/Q1/VEN/2
G/SCM/Q1/VEN/2
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2. Could Venezuela explain thelegal relationship between thenotified legislation andthe
LawonUnfair Trade Practices? What willhappen ifprovisions ofthese instruments conflict?
Aspointed outearlier, therulesintheAnti-Dumping andCountervailing Measures Agreements
prevail overVenezuelan legislation, sinceourConstitution grants suchagreements astatus higher than
anyordinary orspecial law. Hence, inanyconflict between theprovisions oftheLawapproving the
Agreements andtheLawonUnfair Foreign Trade Practices andtheRegulations thereto, therelevant
provisions oftheAgreements willprevail.
3. Could Venezuela clarify under what conditions theCASS caninitiate aninvestigation ex
officio ?
Since theWTO Anti-Dumping andCountervailing Measures Agreements entered intoforce
inVenezuelaandbecauseimplementationoftheseAgreementstakesprecedenceoverdomesticlegislation,
theCASS caninitiate aninvestigation exofficio inexceptional circumstances when ithassufficient
evidence ofdumping, injury andacausal link. Nevertheless, itshould bepointed outthattheCASS
hasnotinitiated anyinvestigation exofficio either before orsincetheentry intoforceoftheAgreements
inquestion.
4. Thenotified legislation states thattheCASS has10working days after theapplication
islodged todecide whether toinitiate aninvestigation. CanVenezuela explain howitintends
toofferconsultations andholdconsultations under Article 13.1oftheSubsidies Agreement within
aperiod of10days?
AsVenezuela hasrepeatedly stated, theMarrakesh Agreement Establishing theWTO andall
theAgreements thatform anintegral partofit,including theAnti-Dumping andSubsidies and
Countervailing Measures Agreements, aredomestic lawinVenezuela. Thismakes ittechnically
unnecessary toenact newlegislation inorder toadapt domestic lawstotheAgreements, since the
Agreements takeprecedence overthelegislation onthesubject. Inthisregard, when anapplication
forasubsidy investigation isaccepted, theCASS willnotproceed toinitiate theinvestigation without
firstrequesting andholding consultations under Article 13.1oftheAgreement onSubsidies and
Countervailing Measures and,inthiscase, thiswillbetaken intoaccount inthedecision onthe
application toinitiate aninvestigation.
5. TheTechnical Secretariat mayapply confidential treatment totheinformation supplied.
Under what conditions willconfidential treatment begranted?
TheCommission 'sTechnical Secretariat would only apply confidential treatment tothe
information supplied following asufficiently justified application forconfidential treatment, provided
thatdisclosure oftheinformation would beofsignificant competitive advantage toacompetitor or
would haveasignificantly adverse effect uponaperson supplying theinformation oruponathirdparty.
6. Are"price" and"elimination ofexports" theonlypossible undertakings?
Therelevant Venezuelan legislation establishes thataninvestigation canbesuspended or
terminated inthecaseofundertakings torevise prices andtoeliminate orlimittheuseofsubsidies.
Furthermore, although theRegulations establish thatundertakings canbemade toreduce orlimitthe
volume ofexports, since theentry intoforce oftheAnti-Dumping andSubsidies andCountervailing
Measures Agreements andbypreferential implementation ofthose Agreements, suchundertakings may
onlyrelate tototalsuspension ofsuchexports.