WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/RL/W/171 
15 February 2005 
 (05-0616) 
Negotiating Group on Rules Original:   English 
  
 
SENIOR OFFICIALS’ STATEMENT 
 
Communication from Brazil;  Chile;  Colombia;  Cost a Rica;  Hong Kong, China;  Israel;  Japan;
 
Korea, Rep. of;  Mexico;  Norway;  Singapore;   Switzerland;  the Separate Customs Territory  
of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Ma tsu;  Thailand;  and Turkey  
   The following communication, dated 11 February 2005, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegations of Brazil;  Chile;  Colombia;  Co sta Rica;  Hong Kong, China;  Israel;  Japan;  
Korea, Rep. of;  Mexico;  Norway;  Singapore;  Switzerland;  the Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Mats u;  Thailand;  and Turkey. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
We, the Senior Officials responsible for trade of Brazil;  Chile;  Colombia;  Costa Rica;  
Hong Kong, China;  Israel;  Japan;  Korea, Rep. of ;  Mexico;  Norway;  Singapore;  Switzerland;  
the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu;  Thailand;  and Turkey, met 
on 11 February 2005 in Geneva to take stock of  the negotiations on anti-dumping.  We acknowledge 
the good work done and we urge Members to rein force their impetus in the Rules Negotiating Group. 
 
WTO Members attach great importance to AD negotiations
 
 
Nearly 100 proposals –around 30 from the FANs—have been tabled.  The numbers show 
great interest;  the substance demonstrates that our goals are shared by many Members.  Most of the issues of interest to FANs have been considered in the Rules Negotiating Group. 
 AD investigations and measures often u sed as handy tool for protectionism
 
 
The underlying situation has not improved as anti-dumping investigations and measures 
continue to be used for protectionist purposes in many cases.  The proliferation of abusive  anti-dumping measures serves as a substitute for the tr ade barriers that have b een eliminated through 
painstaking negotiations.  In a ddition, non-compliance with th e Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) 
rulings has, in several cases, become a serious pr oblem.  Ensuring that legitimate economic interests 
are not undermined by protectionism should be a priority for all WTO Members.  
 
Export interests of developing countries particularly at risk
 
 This is especially true for developing count ries whose economic growth and diversification 
of exports are particularly at risk of being hampered by AD measures.  The Doha Development 
Agenda (DDA) negotiations are about improving rules that will  nurture economic development 
throughout the globe.  Substantial results in anti-dum ping negotiations are essential to ensure that the 
benefits gained from overall market access liberaliza tion, especially for developing countries, would 
not be taken away through the backdoor. TN/RL/W/171 
Page 2  
 
 Parallel and substantial progress in AD  negotiations needed in Hong Kong
 
 
The July package in 2004 was an important st ep forward in some areas.  The Hong Kong 
Ministerial Conference in December 2005 provides an opportunity to bring the Round closer to its 
conclusion in all areas.  We reaffirm that pa rallel and substantial progress in the anti-dumping 
negotiations is essential for the achievements to be made in Hong Kong. 
 
Six broad objectives to accelerate and focus our work  
 
In order to accelerate and focus future work by Members, the FANs have reflected the 
essence of their proposals in six broad objectives, which will serve as policy guidelines for our 
initiatives.  Most of these objectives are, in fact, widely shared by Members. 
 
Gather momentum in our work for text-based negotiation  
 
• The process is very close to achieving a good basis for negotiations.  Work should be 
expedited, and soon we should start a text -based negotiation to clarify and improve the 
disciplines. 
 
• We re-affirm our strong support for the serious  efforts by many WTO Members to attain 
reforms on anti-dumping rules.  We further commit ourselves to accelerate and intensify our work towards a substantial outcome in the Hong Kong Ministerial meeting and beyond.  
 
• By listing these six objectives, as elaborated in the FANs' proposals, we encourage Members 
to quickly seize the opportunity to share their idea with us and act together in our work for the text-based negotiation.  We especially welcome the participation of developing countries to 
pursue our common goal. 
 
• Finally, we recall that at the informal Minist erial gathering in Davos on 29 January this year, 
Ministers underlined the need for parallel pr ogress in agriculture, NAMA, services, rules and 
trade facilitation and on the development dimensio n in order to achieve a balanced outcome 
for the DDA negotiations.  We stand ready to  work with the Chai rman for the Rules 
Negotiating Group and all interested Members in  conducting the necessary work to achieve 
this aim. 
•  
Six Broad Objectives 
 
1. Mitigating the Excessive Effects of AD Measures 
 The purpose of AD measures is to eliminate th e injurious effects of dumped imports on the 
domestic industry in the importing country.  The pur pose is not to eliminate imports altogether, but 
only the injurious effects caused by such imports.  To the extent that AD measures exceed what is 
necessary to counteract the injurious effects of the dumping, such measures are not justified and 
should not be allowed under the AD Agreement.  Excessive measures over-burden exporters and also 
limit access to imports by consumers and industr ies, adversely affecting economic welfare and 
competitiveness in both markets.  The substantial num ber of countries that have raised the issues of 
“mandatory lesser duty” and “public  interest” shows the importance at tached to the need to ensure 
that AD measures are not applied beyond what is strictly necessary to protect domestic industries 
from injurious dumping. 
    TN/RL/W/171 
 Page 3 
 
 
 2. Preventing AD Measures from Becoming “Permanent” 
 The AD Agreement provides several mechanisms  to modify or terminate AD measures.  
These so-called “reviews” enable the AD measures to adjust to market changes.  It is crucial that 
efforts made by exporters who eliminate dumping in response to AD measures are duly recognized.  
This is also the best way to eliminate the injurious effects of dumping on the importing country.  
However, the application of these rules by some Memb ers has made it difficult to change or terminate 
the measures irrespective of the efforts made by expor ters to eliminate dumping.  Current disciplines 
on reviews are unclear and deficient and have ofte n led to disputes.  In a large number of cases, 
measures are “rolled over” after “sunset” reviews despite the revocation of the measures after five years foreseen in the AD Agreement.  T hus, at present an AD measure, once applied, can 
continue to be applied for decades even though the underlying cause has disappeared, thereby serving 
as a de facto  permanent protection of the domestic industry.  Such practices not only harm the 
exporters who, more than anyone, want to elimin ate dumping, but also reduce consumer welfare as 
well as the competitiveness of the downstream  industries in the importing country.   
 3. Strengthening Due Process and Enhancing the Transparency of Proceedings 
Anti-dumping investigations involve complex pr ocesses where competing interests interact.  
Due process and transparency must be guaranteed to en sure that the facts are established in a fair and 
objective manner, thus providing a sound basis fo r decisions.  Due process and transparency are 
essential to ensure adequate opportunity for all interest ed parties to present their facts and views to the 
authorities and to rebut the allegations of the other parties.  Transparency furthers accountability since 
it allows for public scrutiny of the measure’s cons istency with the AD Agreement and its impact on 
the economy and the society as a whole.   
4. Reducing Costs for Authorities and Respondents 
Due to increased complexities, AD investigations have become very costly for importers, 
exporters, governments and other parties.  Moreove r, the costs do not vary much according to the 
volume of trade;  consequently, small exporters ha ve the same burden as the larger ones.  Thus the 
costs of investigations and reviews can act as additional trade barriers independent of the 
AD measures themselves.  In fact, foreign sm all-and medium-sized (SME) respondents find it 
increasingly difficult to participate in investigations  and are simply forced to give up exporting.  
Excessively detailed investigations may also be too burdensome for authorities with limited resources.  
This may ultimately undermine the credibility of the me asures.  It is therefore important to streamline 
and standardize the basic tools and procedures of the investigations.    
5. Terminating Unwarranted and Unnecessary Investigations at an Early Stage 
 The mere initiation of an investigation has a chilling effect on trade, since exporters and 
importers have to suffer from the uncertainty of the outcome of the investigation.  Indeed, even the 
threat of filing a petition can effectively be used as a means to harass competitors, stifling trade and 
competition.  The enormous cost and resource  requirements are yet another burden that an 
unwarranted initiation can impose on exporters.  Furthermore, once provisional measures are 
imposed, even in cases where the inv estigation results in no measures in the final determination, the 
irreparable damage to the exporters will have been done.  Unnecessary investigations are also 
burdensome for authorities, who are forced to spend substantial resources.  By improving the 
disciplines for initiations we can prevent and termin ate frivolous petitions and investigations at an 
early stage in the proceeding, wh ich in turn will reduce costs, cu rtail harassment, and reduce the 
burden on authorities.    
  TN/RL/W/171 
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 6. Providing Disciplines to Improve and Clarify Substantive Rules for Dumping and 
Injury 
After a decade of experience with the applica tion of the current AD Agreement, it is now 
evident that many of the rules are unclear and need improvement.  This is particularly the case in procedures and methodologies for dumping margin cal culations and the practice of “zeroing” as well 
as in the various aspects of injury determinations.  It  is as if Members were at times applying different 
agreements!  This undermines predictability as well as  the uniform application of the rules by WTO 
Members.  The absence of clear rul es also increases the burden on authorities, particularly those with 
fewer resources and experience.  It is unfortunate  that the challenges in the WTO dispute settlement 
system have become almost a routine.  This in tu rn adds another layer of uncertainty as well as erodes 
the credibility and legitimacy of the system, re sulting in continued abuse and serious economic 
consequences in the form of increased transaction co sts, discouragement of trade and investment and 
adverse impact in the development of new products and markets.  Clarifica tions and improvements of 
the substantive rules are therefore key to reducing the burdens on authorities, interested parties and 
society as a whole by ensuring uniform applica tion and interpretation of anti-dumping rules. 
 
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