RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/ADP/AHG/W/116
24 April 2001
(01-2053)
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices
Ad Hoc Group on ImplementationOriginal:  English
LIST OF QUESTIONS POSED BY MEMBERS ON THE APPLICATION OF THE
LESSER DUTY RULE AND CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC INTEREST
Replies of Canada
The following communication, dated 23 April 2001, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Canada.
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Q1. Are industrial users and consumer organizations given the right to review and copy the
non-confidential versions of all documents submitted by the parties to the investigation?  (This
is relevant only to Members who do not maintain a full public file of all documents relating to
the investigation.)
Reply
Yes - Canadian authorities maintain full public files of all documents relating to anti-dumping
investigations.
Q2. At what stage of the investigation do the Members provide opportunities for industrial
users and consumer organizations to provide information?  Do they have a right to be heard as
well as to submit written information?
Reply
At any time during the preliminary and final investigations of dumping and injury, interested
parties are invited to file written submissions to th e appropriate investigating authority containing any
information believed to be relevant to the particular investigation (dumping or injury).
With regard to public interest, industrial users and consumers, among others, may request that
the Canadian International Trade Tribunal conduct a public interest inquiry to consider whether the
imposition of the anti-dumping duties, or the imposition of such duties in the full amount, is in the
public interest.  In such inquiries, parties may make representations orally and/or in writing to the
Canadian International Trade Tribunal.
Q3. Are there Members who maintain a verifica tion procedure for verifying the factual
information submitted by these parties?
Reply
Information submitted to Canada’s investigating authorities for the purposes of an
anti-dumping investigation is verified by various means.  In the context of a public interest inquiry,G/ADP/AHG/W/116
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information is verified through questioning by the parties of the material submitted, and through cross
examination of witnesses during a public hearing.
Q4. Do those Members who do not include a pub lic interest clause in their anti-dumping
regimes provide an opportunity for industrial users and consumer organizations to provide
information?  If so, what effect, if any, do thei r views have on the determinations made by the
Authorities?
Reply
Not applicable - Canadian law allows Canadian authorities to consider the broader public
interest in the administration of its anti-dumping and subsidy countervail law.
Q5. To what extent do those Members who do include a public interest clause in their
anti-dumping regimes consider the information and comments received from the industrial
users and consumer organizations in their final determinations?  It may be useful to provide
specific examples of cases where those commen ts actually had an impact on the final
determination.
Reply
Industrial users and consumers have the opportunity to make submissions concerning
dumping or injury at any stage of an anti-dumping investigation.  Public interest inquiries, when held,
are conducted subsequent to affirmative final determinations of dumping and injury.  In that context,
industrial users and consumers are specifically invited to make submissions to the Canadian
International Trade Tribunal on matters related to the broader public interest of imposing
anti-dumping duties in a specific case.  These public interest issues could include competition policyconcerns, broader economic impacts to downstream users, health care issues or consumer interests.
This process allows a broad spectrum of interested persons an opportunity to be heard.
In that context, representatives of industrial users and consumers groups, as well as Canada’s
competition authorities, submitted information to and appeared before the Canadian International
Trade Tribunal in several inquiries including Certain Grain Corn in 1986, Certain Jarred Baby Foods
in 1998 and Iodinated Contrast Media in 2000.
Q6. Do Members affording opportunities for industrial users to comment also include the
suppliers of the raw material as parties who may provide relevant information to the
investigating authorities?
Reply
Yes, suppliers of raw material have the opportunity to provide comment to the investigating
authorities in the context of public interests inquiries.
Q7. Is there any distinction drawn between the preliminary and final determination with
respect to the relevance of information provided by users or consumers?
Reply
As noted above in reply to question 2, at any time during the dumping investigation interested
parties can submit comments containing information that are believed to be relevant to the dumping or
injury and causality determinations.  Industrial users and consumers more commonly makeG/ADP/AHG/W/116
Page 3
submissions in the context of a public interest inquiry which, if conducted in a particular case, is
conducted subsequent to final determinations of dumping and injury.
Q8. How do Members take into account the “relevancy” of submissions from consumers and
downstream users?
Reply
Submissions are considered to the extent that the information is relevant to the question at
hand in the particular inquiry.  In a public interest inquiry, these submissions are central to the
question of the elimination or reduction of the anti-dumping duties.
Q9. Are competition authorities allowed and/or  required to provide input on behalf of
consumers and downstream industries?
Reply
Canada’s competition authorities have the right to intervene in the injury aspect of
anti-dumping investigations in as much as the submissions relate to the questions of injury and
causation and arguments in favour of having a public interest inquiry.  In respect of public interest
inquiries, the competition authorities are authoriz ed to participate in the inquiry and provide any
information related to the public interest, including competition concerns.
Q10. Can representations from these groups result in the reduction of anti-dumping duties?
Reply
Yes, public interest inquiries may result in a recommendation by the Canadian International
Trade Tribunal to the Minister of Finance that the anti-dumping duties be reduced or eliminated for
public interest reasons.
Q11. Is not "public interest" a sovereign judgement?
Reply
In Canada’s system, such decisions are made by the Government of Canada on
recommendation of the Minister of Finance, who decides whether or not to act on a public interest
report.  However, the requirement to consider the relevant submissions from industrial users and
consumers is a WTO obligation under Article 6.12 of the ADA.  Canada allows for the considerationof submissions from these parties in a fashion that may allow them to have an impact on the level of
final duties.
Q12. May not the public interest lie in enforcement of Anti-dumping laws?
Reply
Yes, in the vast majority of cases, Canadian authorities have determined that the overall
public interest lies in the normal enforcement of Canada’s anti-dumping legislation.G/ADP/AHG/W/116
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Q13. Can not a sovereign determine that its economy is best served by enforcement of
Anti-dumping laws?
Reply
Canada does not see a contradiction between the right of parties to make submissions
concerning the overall public interest of levying anti-dumping duties or levying such duties in the full
amount and the right of a sovereign nation to levy such duties up to, but not exceeding, the margin of
dumping.
Q14. Does consideration of public interest testimony allow for testimony of producers and
employees of the industries subject to alleged dumping?
Reply
Submissions from producers and employees of th e industries subject to alleged dumping are
considered both during the dumping and injury investigations and in any subsequent public interestinquiry.
Q15. To what extent is a public interest evaluation affected by the fact that the duty is less
than the margin of dumping?
Reply
Under the Canadian anti-dumping system, the am ount of anti-dumping duty is always equal
to the margin of dumping unless the government, on recommendation of the Minister of Finance, has
reduced the amount of anti-dumping duties pursuant to a public interest inquiry.  One option forreducing such duties is to apply a lesser-duty concept.
Q16. In the context of lesser duty calculations , to what extent, if any, are competition
authorities allowed in the process?
Reply
Canada’s competition authorities have a right under the Competition Act and trade remedy
law to participate in public interest inquiries before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal and, in
this regard, have made submissions on the appropriate level of duty reductions.
Q17. To what extent, if any, are importers in  the investigation allowed to represent the
downstream consumer?
Reply
To the extent that they have relevant authoritative information about the effects on
downstream consumers, importers of the goods in question may present that information to the
Canadian International Trade Tribunal in the context of a public interest inquiry.
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