. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SG/N/6/VEN/6
21 November 2002
(02-6482)
Committee on Safeguards Original:  Spanish
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12.1(a) OF THE AGREEMENT
ON SAFEGUARDS ON INITIATION OF AN INVESTIGATION
AND THE REASONS FOR IT
VENEZUELA
The following communication, dated 18 November 2002, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Venezuela.
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I have the honour to inform you that the Technical Secretariat of the Anti-Dumping and
Subsidies Commission (CASS), by way of Decisi on No. ST-S-AP002/02 of 23 September 2002, has
agreed to initiate a safeguards investigation into imports of footwear falling under Venezuelan
Customs Tariff headings 6401.91.00, 6401.92.00, 6401.99.00, 6402.19.00, 6402.20.00, 6402.91.00,
6402.99.00, 6403.19.00, 6403.20.00, 6403.40.00, 6403.51.00, 6403.59.00, 6403.91.00, 6403.99.00,
6404.11.00, 6404.19.00, 6404.20.00, 6405.10.00, 6405.20.00, and 6405.90.00.
To that effect and in compliance with Article 12.1(a) of the Agreement on Safeguards, I
enclose the notification of the initiation of the abov e investigation, in accordance with the notification
format agreed by the WTO Committee on Safeguar ds, for prompt information to the Members.
Pursuant to Article 12.1(a) of the WTO Agreement on Safeguards, and taking into account the
model proposed by the Committee on Safeguards (G/SG/N/6, dated 7 February 1995), the Committee
is hereby informed that the competent Venezuelan authority has initiated the following safeguards
investigation.
1. Date of initiation of the investigation :  By means of Decision No. ST-S-AP002/02, dated 23
September 20021, the Technical Secretariat of the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission agreed to
initiate a safeguards investigation into the imports specified below.  The Technical Secretariat
initiated the investigation pursuant to Order No. ST-ST-001/02 of 21 October 2002
2. Products subject to the investigation :  Footwear falling under Venezuelan Customs Tariff
headings 6401.91.00, 6401.92.00, 6401.99.00, 6402.19.00, 6402.20.00, 6402.91.00, 6402.99.00,
6403.19.00, 6403.20.00, 6403.40.00, 6403.51.00, 6403.59.00, 6403.91.00, 6403.99.00, 6404.11.00,
6404.19.00, 6404.20.00, 6405.10.00, 6405.20.00, and 6405.90.00.
                                                     
1 The text of Decision No. ST-S-AP002/02 of 23 September 2002 was published in Official Journal of
the Republic of Venezuela No. 37.550 of 16 October 2002.G/SG/N/6/VEN/6
Page 2
3. Reasons for initiation of the investigation :
(i) The investigation was initiated through an official notification from the Ministry of
Production and Trade ordering the verification body, namely the Technical Secretariat
of the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission (CASS), to initiate an ex officio
safeguards investigation into footwear imports.
(ii) The Technical Secretariat of the Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Commission opened
the investigation on the basis of a technical report by the Directorate-General of
Industrial Sectors of the Vice-Ministry of Industry of the Ministry of Production and
Trade, which concludes that there is sufficient evidence of increased imports of
footwear, of injury to a significant portion of the domestic industry, and of a causallink between the two.  The Technical Secretar iat also analysed the information in the
above report, noting that there was sufficient evidence of a substantial increase in
footwear imports, of a decline in the variables of domestic production, and of a causal
relationship.  On the basis of the supplementary information provided by the Ministry
of Production and Trade on the current situation of the domestic industry, theTechnical Secretariat likewise noted that there was sufficient evidence in terms of the
number of enterprises in the footwear sector having ceased operations, loss of
employment in that sector, decline in the economic variables of domestic footwear
production, and agreements between enterprises in the footwear sector and workers'
unions tending to increase flexibility in working hours and in the payment of workers'wages.  The Technical Secretariat thus assessed the merits of initiating the
investigation and considered that there was sufficient evidence of increased imports
and serious injury to the domestic industry as a result of such an increase.
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