. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/N/6/DOM/5 
10 March 2010 
 
 (10-1265) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   Spanish 
  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 12. 1(a) OF THE AGREEMENT ON 
SAFEGUARDS ON INITIATION OF AN INVESTIGATION 
PROCEDURE AND THE REASONS FOR IT 
 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 
 
(Certain sports and other socks
) 
  
The following communication, dated 8 March 2010, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the Dominican Republic.
1 
 
_______________ 
 
  Pursuant to Article 12.1(a) of the WTO Agreem ent on Safeguards, and in light of the format 
for notifications under the Agreement on Safeguard s adopted by the Committee on Safeguards, the 
Dominican Republic hereby notifies that its compet ent authority has initiated a safeguard procedure, 
as follows:   
1. Specify the date when the investigation was initiated 
 2 March 2010, by means of a notice published in the newspaper Listín Diario and on the 
Regulatory Commission website.  Attached hereto  is a copy of the Resolution initiating the 
investigation.  
2. Specify the product subject to the investigation 
 Sports and other socks for women, men, child ren and babies, of cotton or synthetic fibres, 
excluding woollen socks, panties, support socks for varicose veins and other socks used in the health 
sector in the Dominican Republic.  The products are currently classified under tariff subheadings 
6115.95.00 and 6116.96.20 of the Spanish version of the Harmonized Commodity Description and 
Coding System, which incorporates the fourth amendment thereto (HS 2007).  3. Provide the reasons for the initiation  of investigation, for example: 
(i) Was the investigation initiated pursuant to a petition from the domestic industry? 
  The investigation was initiated at the request of Textilera del Sur, C. por A., in its capacity as 
the domestic industry, and on the basis of th e information and evidence which it submitted. 
                                                     
 
1 A copy of the Resolution (CDC-RD-SG-050-2010 - in Spanish only) has been submitted 
electronically.  To consult this document, pleas e contact Mrs Budd (hilary.budd@wto.org) or 
Mrs Naville (delphine.naville@wto.org) of the Rules Division.  G/SG/N/6/DOM/5 
Page 2  
 
   
(ii) Evidence on the basis of which the investigation was initiated. 
  Using the information and evidence supplied by  the applicant, the Regulatory Commission, in 
its capacity as the investigating authority of th e Dominican Republic, found that imports represented 
128.81 per cent of domestic production in 2009, up from 64.02 per cent in 2006.  According to the 
evidence which has been submitted to date and whic h the Commission itself has been able to gather, 
imports of sports and other sock s have accounted for a sizeable share of the Dominican market. 
(iii) Evidence, if any, of critical circumstances where delay would cause damage which it 
would be difficult to repair. 
 
 The cumulative 20.11 per cent increase in the volume of imports of sports and other socks 
during the period under investigation would appear to  be the cause of the injury facing the domestic 
industry that translates into a fall of 28.88 per cent in production in 2008 compared with 2006, as well as a decline of 10.98 per cent in the number of j obs and a significant loss of share in the domestic 
market for sports and other socks in the same period. 
 
4. Means for corresponding 
 Any communication made in accordance with th e relevant provisions shall indicate the name, 
domicile, address, e-mail address and telephone and fa x numbers of the sender, and be sent to the 
following address: 
 
Comisión Reguladora de Prácticas Desleales en el Comercio y Medidas de Salvaguardias Calle Manuel de Jesús Troncoso Nº 18 Ensanche Paraíso Santo Domingo (República Dominicana) 
Tel.:  +1 (809) 476-0111 
 
5. Tentative schedule of the investigation 
(a) The date of initiation of the investigation (as of the publication of the notice in a 
national newspaper); 
(b) the deadline for other interested parties to notify the Commission of their interest in 
participating in the investigation ( 15 days after the date of initiation); 
(c) the deadline for filing arguments concerning the possible application of a safeguard 
measure (30 days as from the date of initiation); 
(d) the deadline for holding the hearing (60 days before the final determination). 
__________