G/ADP/Q1/ECU/19  
G/SCM/Q1/ECU/19  
6 May 2019 
(19-3075) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Anti -Dumping Practices  
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER  
ARTICLES  18.5 AND  32.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS  
REPLIES TO THE QUESTIONS1 POSED BY THE UNITED STATES  
REGARDING  THE NOTIFICATION OF ECUADOR2 
The following communication, dated 2 9 April 2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Ecuador . 
 
_______________  
 
 
Question  1 
a. Article 9(k) of the notification states that the relevant Ministry for the determination 
of injury is the instituti on which, because of its powers and competence, supervises 
the domestic industry requesting the measure . Please provide examples of Ministries 
that might be deemed the relevant ministry for determining injury in an investigation.  
 
b. Please explain how Ecuador will ensure there is no conflict of interest in the Ministry's 
supervision of the domestic industry and its determination of injury.  
 
c. If the Ministry deemed responsible for determining material injury or threat of 
material injury in an investigation is not the Trade Defence Coordination Office 
(Investigating Authority), please explain whether this Ministry is subject to the 
provisions of the notified Regulation, including those governing the conduct of trade 
remedy proceedings, such as t he protection of confidential information, and how the 
legal authority to make injury determinations is delegated to this Ministry.  
 
Reply 
 
(a) As indicated in Article 9(k), the determination of injury shall be made  by the relevant 
Ministry, i.e. the Ministry that, on account  of the powers delegated by the Executive Branch 
by virtue of its organizational structure, supervises  the various production sectors, e.g. the 
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for agricultural products and the Ministry of 
Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries  for industrial products . 
(b) No conflict of interest  is possible , as the competent relevant Ministry shall base the injury 
analysis  exclusively on sufficient and positive evidence and in clude  an objective 
examination of the volume of the dumped imports, their impact on prices in the domestic 
market and their effects on the domestic industry . 
(c) The competent Ministry shall be delegated legal authority  by the Investigating Authority in 
accordance with its sphere of competence . The Ministry  shall contribute to the process of 
collecting all the information required in order to carry out the analysis of injury o r threat 
thereof, and is required to adhere to the provisions of the notified Re solutio n, including 
with regard to the protection of confidential information . 
 
                                                
1 G/ADP/Q1/ECU/18 -G/SCM/Q1/ECU/18.  
2 Document G/ADP/N/1/ECU/3/Suppl.2 (dated 30 October  2018).  G/ADP/Q1/ECU/19 • G/SCM/Q1/ECU/19  
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  Question  2 
 
Article 9(n)(n.2) states that "the period for collecting data in dumping investigations shall 
normally be 12 months, {sic} may in no event be less than six months" . Please ela borate, 
under what circumstances would the period of investigation be less than 12 months.  
 
Reply 
 
The periods specified in the Ecuadorian Resolution  have been established in line with the  
Recommendation Concerning the Periods of Data Collection for Anti -Dumping Investigations , which 
was issued by the WTO Committee on Anti -Dumping Practices and set out in document G/ADP/6 of 
16 May 2000. The period for collecting data in du mping investigations shall normally be 12 months, 
and in no event less than six mont hs. 
 
In this light, and in accordance with the above -mentioned Recommendation , domestic industries 
may submit information for a minimum of six months . The Committee on Anti -Dumping Practices  
determined this period to be sufficient for collecting  data in an  investigation . 
 
Question  3 
Are the governments of exporting countries considered interested parties in reviews of 
trade remedy measures, including expiry, changed circumstances, interim, and new 
shipper reviews?  
 
Reply 
 
Depending on the grounds justifying  the procedure , the Investigating Authority shall determine who 
should be treated as an interested party for the purposes of the initiation and conduct of the 
procedure and, to this end , take into account the existence of a legitimate interest or a subject ive 
right that may be directly affected, impaired or satisfied as a result of the administrative 
investigation . 
 
Question  4 
 
Article 36(2) states that the producer or producers submitting the application for an 
anti-dumping investigation shall indicate whe ther other producers of the domestic like 
product support the application and whether the applicants and the domestic producers 
supporting the application account for more than 50 % of the total production of the 
domestic like product . If the applicants ind icate that other domestic producers support 
the application, what documentation is required to support the applicants' claims of 
support ? For example, are signed letters from non -applicant producers provided as part 
of the application ? If no documentation of support is provided, how does the Investigating 
Authority satisfy itself that the thresholds for industry support in this Article and 
Article  5.4 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 Agreement are met ? 
 
Reply 
 
If, at the time when the application is filed, the producers account for  less than 50 % (but more 
than 25%) of the total production of the like product, the producers submitting the application must 
include sufficient evidence tha t other Ecuadorian producers of the like product support the 
application . If no supporting documentation is submitted, the Investigating Authority may request 
and take such evidence as it considers pertinent . 
 
Question  5 
 
Article 48 regarding access to public information in the case file states that, "[u]pon 
written request, the interested parties may see all information in the investigation that is 
relevant to their defense, is not confidential under Article 46 and is used in the 
investigation, with the  exception of internal documents drafted by government 
authorities" . Please clarify what would constitute "internal documents drafted by G/ADP/Q1/ECU/19 • G/SCM/Q1/ECU/19  
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  government authorities" and explain why interested are not entitled to this information if 
it is relevant to their defe nse. 
 
Reply 
 
The internal documents drafted by government entities  that are referred to in Article 48 are those 
containing confidential information that may only be accessed by  the competent authorities acting 
in performance of their functions, in the course of which the absolute confidentiality of that 
information and the requirement to act as its custodian must be duly maintained . 
 
Question  6 
 
Articles 56(2) states that "[t]he Investigating  Authority may seek the cooperation of 
other public institutions or state entities to verify the information contained in the file" . 
Article 57(2) similarly states that the Investigating Authority "may notify its wish to 
conduct on -the-spot investigations of public bodies or private entities that are not 
interested parties in the investigation provided that it is deemed that they can contribute 
relevant information to the investigation" . Please provide examples of public institutions, 
public bodies, and pri vate institutions that may be requested to provide information in an 
anti-dumping proceeding and the type of information they may be asked to provide . 
Please also explain the consequences if a public institution, public body, or private 
institution that is  not an interested party to the investigation, refuses, or otherwise fails 
to provide the requested information . 
 
Reply 
 
The public institutions referred to in Article  56(2) are, for instance, those with information concerning  
the country's various production sectors, such as the agricultural and industrial sectors, or those 
that have statistical data that may be useful for the investigation . The failure of these institutions to 
cooperate may give rise to administrative liabili ty, as well as appropriate penalties for the officials 
responsible for such failure . 
 
For private institutions , the information required by the Investigating Authority shall only be that 
which can contribute to the investigation and which may be requested,  for instance , from institutions 
that participate in the production chain for the goods, regardless of whether or not they are 
interested part ies in the investigation . In the event that  one or more of the parties fail to cooperate, 
the Investigating Authority shall draw up its report using  the best available information . 
 
Question  7 
 
Article 94 specifies that parties have 20 days following the date of publication of the 
preliminary deter mination to submit comments on the determination . May this deadline 
be extended by the Investigating Authority if good cause is shown ? 
 
Reply 
 
Article  94 does not provide for  the possibility of extending the 20 -day deadline . Applications for  
extension s shall be considered only where they are allowed . However , as the investigation proceeds,  
the interested parties may continue to exercise their right to defence  and to an adversarial 
proceeding , within the time -frames provided for to that end in Resolution No. 10-2018 COMEX or in 
the preliminary decision  issued by the Committee on Foreign Trade . 
 
Question  8 
 
Article 113 explains that the collection of antidumping duties may be suspended for 
reasons of public interest . Please describe the circumstances under which duties might 
be suspended under this provision.  
 G/ADP/Q1/ECU/19 • G/SCM/Q1/ECU/19  
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  Reply  
 
Pursuant to Article  113, the established measures may  be suspended for a period of nine months 
only where : 
 
1. There are r easons of public interest , i.e. the safeguarding of national security, public safety, 
the economic well -being of the country, order , health protection, education and the 
environment , among other areas of collective int erest. 
2. Injury would be unlikely to recur as a result of the suspension . 
3. The domestic indus try has been consulted on the matter and been given an opportunity to  
comment . 
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