RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/ADP/AHG/W/7
22April 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-1740)
Original: English Committee onAnti-Dumping Practices
AdHocGroup onImplementation
TOPIC 2*
Proposal byJapan
Thefollowing communication, dated 16April 1997, hasbeenreceived from thePermanent
Mission ofJapan.
_______________
THE PERIOD OFDATA COLLECTION FOR DUMPING INVESTIGATIONS
1. Theauthoritiesofimportingcountriesconductinganti-dumpinginvestigationsusuallydesignates
theperiod ofdatacollection onthebasisofeachcaseattheirowndiscretion, while therearenospecific
provisions intheAnti-Dumping Agreement concerning theperiod ofdatacollection.
Insome recent cases where Japanese products wereinvestigated, theperiod ofdatacollection
todetermine whether dumping exists wasgenerally around oneyear:
- inthecaseoftheUS,theperiod ofdatacollection wasaround oneyearinpractice,
while Section 351.204(b)(1) ofthedraftanti-dumping regulation intheUSprovides
thattheSecretary willnormally examine merchandise soldduring thelastfourfiscal
quarters,
- inthecaseoftheEC,theperiod ofinvestigation wasaround oneyearinpractice, while
Article 6(1)oftheECregulation provides thataninvestigation period shall, normally,
cover aperiod ofnotlessthansixmonths, and
- inthecaseoftheRepublic ofKorea, theperiod ofinvestigation wasoneyearin
practice, while ROK'sregulation provides thataninvestigation period shallcover a
representative period ofnotlessthansixmonths.
Asforinjury determination, theperiod ofdatacollection was3-4years ingeneral,
- inthecaseoftheUS,theperiod ofdatacollection isaround three years inpractice,
while there arenospecific provisions intheUSanti-dumping legislation,
*Seedocument G/ADP/W/401 fordescriptions ofthenumbered topics.G/ADP/AHG/W/7
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- inthecaseoftheEC,theperiod ofdatacollection isaround three orfouryears in
practice, while there arenospecific provisions intheECanti-dumping legislation,
and
- inthecaseoftheRepublic ofKorea, theperiod ofinvestigation wasthreeorfouryears
inpractice, while ROK'sregulation provides thataninvestigation period shallcover
aperiod ofnotlessthanthree years.
2. Intheregular course ofbusiness, Japanese firms suchasstock companies mustsettle accounts
onceafiscal yearandfirms withlisted stocks must submit annual reports andsemi-annual reports,
including financial statements, onayearly basisandonasix-month basis, audited byacertified public
accountant, inaccordance withJapan'slaws.
Inorder toefficiently conduct dumping investigations based onaccurate information, andto
avoid theunnecessary burden ofinvestigated firms, itisnecessary tosettheperiod ofdatacollection,
considering theterms ofsettling accounts inthenormal course ofbusiness andtaking intoaccount
theprovision ofArticle 2.2.1.1 oftheAnti-Dumping Agreement andthepurport thereof.
3. ThenotetoArticle 2.2.1 oftheAnti-Dumping Agreement could betaken intoaccount insetting
theperiod ofdatacollection ondumping although thisnotedoesnotdirectly provide fortheperiod
ofdatacollection. Thatistosay,theperiod ofdatacollection should normally beoneyearbutshould
innocasebelessthansixmonths.
4. Theexaminations ofinjury tothedomestic industry normally require alonger period ofdata
collection thanthatfordetermination ofdumping, astheformer needs totakeintoaccount thetrends
oftheeconomic factors andindices. Setting theperiod ofdatacollection, considering theterms to
settle theaccounts innormal business offirms, isnecessary inthiscaseaswell.
5. Ontheother hand, some flexibility should beallowed fortheperiod ofdatacollection, taking
intoaccounteconomicrealities.Eachproductsubjecttoanti-dumpinginvestigationwouldhaveparticular
characteristics interms ofe.g.thenumber ofsales, between consumer goods andcapital goods, the
balance between supply anddemand (especially forseasonal goods), andchanges ofinput costs.
6. Inthelightoftheforegoing, wepropose thefollowing guidelines concerning theperiod of
datacollection beconsidered intheAdHocGroup.
(1) Indumping determination, theperiod ofdatacollection should benolessthansixmonths,
andthemostrecent dataavailable, taking intoaccount theaccounting period which eachfirm
usesinthenormalcourseofbusiness,arerecommendedtoapply.Theauthoritiesmaydetermine
anyadditional oralternative period thatappropriately reflects economic realities astothe
products subject toanti-dumping investigation, taking intoaccount thefactors including:
(a) thecharacteristics oftheproduct subject toanti-dumping investigation (e.g. the
distinction between consumer goods andcapital goods);
(b) thebalance between supply anddemand (e.g.seasonal goods); and
(c) thesubstantial changes ofinputcostsofproducts subject toanti-dumping investigation.
(2) Ininjurydetermination,thethree-year-periodofdatacollectionandthemostrecentdataavailable
taking intoaccount theaccounting period which eachfirmusesinthenormal course ofbusinessG/ADP/AHG/W/7
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arerecommended toapply. Theauthorities maydetermine anyadditional oralternative period
oftimetoappropriately reflect economic realities withregard totheinjury todomestic industry.
7. Itisfurther proposed thatastudy becarried outontheoperations oftheAnti-Dumping
Agreement byMembers withrespect totheperiod ofdatacollection inconsidering theguidelines
mentioned in6.above.