G/ADP/Q1/ECU/18  
G/SCM/Q1/ECU/18  
 
3 April 2019 
(19-2131) Page: 1/2 
Comm ittee 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  
QUESTIONS POSED BY THE UNITED STATES  REGARDING  
THE NOTIFICATION OF ECUADOR1 
The following c ommunication, dated 2 April  2019, is being circulated at the requ est of the delegation 
of the United States.  
 
_______________  
 
 
The United States thanks Ecuador for its notification the text of Resolution No. 10 of the Committee 
on Foreign Trade on "Requirements and procedures for dumping investigations and the application 
of anti -dumping measures, " published in Official Journal No. 534 of 7 September 2018, and poses 
the following questions:  
 
Question 1  
 
a. Article 9 (k) of the notification states that t he relevant Ministry for the determination of injury 
is the institution 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 f or 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 the protection of confidential 
information, and how the legal authority to make injury determinations is delegated to this 
Ministry.  
 
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 elaborate, under what 
circumstances would the period of investigation be less than 12 months.  
 
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 ?  
 
                                                
1 G/ADP/N/1/ECU/3/Suppl.2 (dated 30 October 2018).  G/ADP/Q1/ECU/18 • G/SCM/Q1/ECU/18  
 
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  Question 4  
 
Article 36 (2) states that the producer or producers submitting the application for an an tidumping 
investigation shall indicate whether 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 percent of the total production of  the domestic like product . If the 
applicants indicate 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 th e General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 Agreement are met ?  
 
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 governmen t authorities " and explain why interested are not entitled to this 
information if it is relevant to their defense.  
 
Question 6  
 
Articles 56 (2) states that "[t]he Investigating Authority may seek the cooperation of other public 
institutions or state entiti es 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 inv estigation provided that it 
is deemed that they can contribute relevant information to the investigation ". Please provide 
examples of public institutions, public bodies, and private institutions that may be requested to 
provide information in an antidumping proceeding and the type of information they may be asked 
to provide . Please also explain the consequence s 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.  
 
Question 7  
 
Article 94 specifies that parties have 20 days following th e date of publication of the preliminary 
determination to submit comments on the determination . May this deadline be extended by the 
Investigating Authority if good cause is shown?  
 
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 .  
 
 
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