. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/ADP/Q1/AUS/14 
G/SCM/Q1/AUS/14 19 October 2012 
 
(12-5671) 
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices 
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Original:   English 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER  
ARTICLES 18.5 AND 32.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS 
 
Replies to Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES1 Regarding 
the Notifications of AUSTRALIA2 
   The following communication, dated 18 October 2012, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Australia. 
 
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Question 1 
 
 Under Australian law, does the "Ministerial  Direction on Material Injury" have the 
force of law or regulation?  Is it binding on the Australian authorities and/or Australian judicial 
review tribunals?  
 
Reply 
  The Ministerial Direction on Material Injury 2012 (the Ministerial Direction) was issued by 
the Minister for Home Affairs under section 269TA of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act).  Where the 
Minister has given such a direction, the Chief Ex ecutive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Customs and 
Border Protection Service is required to comply with  any directions so given in carrying out or giving 
effect to the CEO's powers and duties in relation to Australia's anti-dumping system.  The CEO and 
his delegates are thus required to comply with th is direction when determining material injury to 
Australian industry under section 269TAE of the Act.  
The Ministerial Direction is given to the CEO, not the courts.  Therefore the Ministerial 
Direction is not binding on the Australian Courts.  However, if the CEO does not comply with the 
Ministerial Direction that may be an issue that affected parties could bring to the courts.   
 
Question 2 
 
 How did Australia implement the 1990 "Ministerial Direction on Material Injury" 
which has now been revoked?   
                                                      
1 G/ADP/Q1/AUS/11-G/SCM/Q1/AUS/11.    
2 G/ADP/N/1/AUS/2/Suppl.6-G/S CM/N/1/AUS/2/Suppl.4.   G/ADP/Q1/AUS/14 
G/SCM/Q1/AUS/14 Page 2 
 
 
  Reply 
 
 The 1990 Ministerial Direction was implemente d by a direction signed by the then Minister 
for Small Business, Construction and Cust oms David Bedall under section 269TA of the Customs 
Act 1901 .  The 1990 Ministerial Direction was implem ented via the Australian Customs and Border 
Protection Service's (Customs and Border Protecti on) 'Dumping and Subsidy Manual' (the Manual).  
The Manual sets out the legislative framework, pr inciples and practices followed by Customs and 
Border Protection administering Australia's anti- dumping and countervailing system.  The Manual no 
longer references the 1990 Ministerial Direction as the new Ministerial Direction revokes and replaces 
the earlier directives. 
 
Question 3 
 
 Does Australia intend to provide any written guidance on how it intends to interpret or 
implement the "New Ministerial Direction on Mat erial Injury"?  If so, what form will such 
guidance take?  Will such guidance be publicly a vailable?  If so, how may it be accessed?  
 
Reply 
  Further information on how Australia determin es material injury to Australian industry 
(including references to the Material Direction) is  provided in the Manual.  This Manual is available 
at the Customs and Border Protection webs ite on the Reference Material webpage at 
http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page5719.asp . 
 
Question 4 
 
 The language in the "New Ministerial Directio n on Material Injury" suggests that it is 
intended to be a policy statement on the interpre tation of Australian law.  Does Australia agree 
with this assessment?  Does Australia now take the position that the "New Ministerial Direction 
on Material Injury", which references the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures Agreement  but does not reference any specific provisions, provides an 
example of how other Members should discharge their obligations under these Agreements?  
Reply 
 
Australia takes the position that the Ministerial Direction and its implementation in Australia's 
anti-dumping system is consistent with its ob ligations under the World Trade Organization's 
Agreement on Implementa tion of Article VI of the Genera l Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 or the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures .   
 
The Ministerial Direction is designed to be im plemented in the context of Australia's anti-
dumping legislation and administrative practice.  Th e Ministerial Direction is a policy document for 
the internal administration of Australia's anti-dumpi ng system and was not designed as an example of 
how other countries should comply with their WTO obligations.      
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