WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/ADP/Q1/NIC/4 
G/SCM/Q1/NIC/4 20 June 2008 
 
(08-2930) 
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 Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES1 
Regarding the Notification of NICARAGUA2 
   The following communication, dated 6 June 2008, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Nicaragua. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
Question 1 
 
Are the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on 
Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreem ent) and the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures (Subsidies Agreement) sel f implementing under Nicaraguan law?  
Also, in potential cases of conflict betwee n the Anti-Dumping Agreement or Subsidies 
Agreement and the Regulations  which legislation would have precedent? 
 
Reply
 
  The WTO Agreements, including the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures, are part of national legislation and ar e therefore implemented throughout the country. 
 
 Article 4 of the Central American Regulations  on Unfair Business Practices provides that all 
substantive aspects relating to unfair business practices and procedural aspects not covered by the Regulations shall be determined by  the provisions of the instruments referred to in Article 2 of the 
Regulations.  These instruments are the following:  the WTO Agreements and, as appropriate, the 
provisions of the Guatemala Protocol and the Convention on the Central American Tariff and 
Customs Regime;  and instruments relati ng to the region's institutional framework. 
  The WTO Agreements on Anti-Dumping and S ubsidies and Countervailing Measures provide 
the applicable substantive rules.  The Central Am erican Regulations on Unfair Business Practices 
constitute the procedural rules, which are entirely co nsistent with the WTO Agreements;  therefore, in 
the event of conflict, the provisions of the WT O Agreements prevail, since these Agreements 
supersede and supplement the Central American  Regulations on Unfair Business Practices. 
 
                                                     
 
1 G/ADP/Q1/NIC/1 – G/SCM/Q1/NIC/1. 
2 G/ADP/N/1/NIC/2. G/ADP/Q1/NIC/4 
G/SCM/Q1/NIC/4 Page 2 
 
 
  Question 2  
 
Article 1 (Definitions) of the Regulations  defines the investigating authority as "The 
Directorate or Directorate-General of Integration of the Ministry or Secretariat of the Economy 
or, as the case may be, the Directorate competen t for matters pertaining to Central American 
economic integration in each State Party, or the technical unit with responsibility for investigating unfair business practices.  This  shall be SIECA in the case of regional 
procedures."  However, it is not entirely clear who the investigating authority will be for an anti-dumping or countervailing action, nor how th e Secretariat for Central American Economic 
Integration (SIECA) will function with regar ds to an anti-dumping or countervailing duty 
investigation.  Please clarify whether there is one investigating authority across the Central 
American Tariff and Customs Region or whether each country will have its own investigating 
authority.  In addition, please clarify how SIECA will function in the anti-dumping and 
countervailing duty process.  What role will SIE CA play with regards to initiation of anti-
dumping and countervailing duty investigations and determining whether the dumped or 
subsidized imports materially injure the domestic industry? 
 
Reply
 
  The definition of "investigating authority"  under Article 1 of the Central American 
Regulations on Unfair Business Practices covers  the various existing administrative authorities 
responsible for initiating and conduc ting investigations into unfair business practices, whether in the 
case of proceedings concerning trade relations with  third countries (regulated by Chapter I of the 
Central American Regulations), th ose concerning intra-regional tr ade relations (Chapter II), or 
regional proceedings (Chapter III). 
 
 In the case of the procedures set forth in Chapters I and II of the Regulations, the 
investigating authority is that designated by each Central American country within its administrative 
institutional structure, which is responsible fo r conducting anti-dumping and/or countervailing duty 
investigations.  
 In the case of the regional procedures estab lished in Chapter III of the regulations, the 
investigating authority is the Secretariat for Ce ntral American Economic Integration (SIECA).  
SIECA's responsibilities in respect of regional procedures are set forth in Chapter III of the Regulations (special provisions), yet it is also covered by the provisions of Chapters I and II of 
Title II, where appropriate, in ac cordance with Article 36 of the Re gulations, and Articles 2 and 4 of 
the Regulations;  that is to say, its role would be th e same as that of a national authority, with the same 
powers and obligations as any other investigating authority.  
It should be noted that the regional procedure has not been used to date.  
 
Question 3  
 
Article 1 (Definitions) of the Regulations  notes that interested parties shall be defined in 
accordance with Article 6.11 of the Anti-Dumping  Agreement and Article 12.9 of the Subsidies 
Agreement.  Will parties be required to register as an "interested party" under Nicaraguan law 
and, if so, what will be the time limit for such registration? 
 
Reply
 
 
Nicaraguan legislation does not require "interested parties" to register as parties to anti-
dumping or countervailing duty proceedings and ther e is therefore no time limit in this respect.  G/ADP/Q1/NIC/4 
 G/SCM/Q1/NIC/4 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Question 4  
 
Article 11 (Resolution for the initiation of an investigation) of the Regulations  does not 
make clear who will receive notification of the investigation initiation, time limits interested 
parties will have to respond to the notification  nor who will receive questionnaires following the 
resolution to initiate an investigation. 
 
(a) Could Nicaragua please clarify whether a ll interested parties will be notified or 
whether only those parties named as defendants will be notified of the 
investigation initiation? 
 
Reply  
  At the end of Article 11 it is explained that th e resolution for the initiation of an investigation 
will be notified within ten days of its date of issue to the interested parties of which the investigating 
authority has reasonable knowledge.  Under Article 1 ("Definitions") of the Regulations, interested 
parties are those referred to in Article 6.11 of th e Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the 
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and Ar ticle 12.9 of the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures, respectively.  
(b) Please clarify who will receive the questio nnaires and what the time limits will be 
for responding to such questionnaires as per Article 6.1.1 and footnote 15 of the 
Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 12.1.1 and footnote 40 of the Subsidies Agreement. 
 Reply
 
  Article 11 of the Central American Regula tions cannot be read in isolation from the 
provisions of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs 
and Trade 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement) and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures.  According to paragraph (h) of Artic le 11, the resolution for the initiation of an 
investigation shall indicate the time-limit grante d to the defendants and, where appropriate, the 
foreign government or governments mentioned, to submit whatever evidence they see fit.  Such 
time-limits must be consistent with Article 6.1. 1 and footnote 15 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and 
Article 12.1.1 and footnote 40 of the Subsidies Agreement.   It is also understood, from paragraph (i) 
of Article 11 of the Regulations, that the resolution for the initiation of an investigation shall contain  
determination of the information that is to be re quested from the "interested parties" in questionnaires 
and forms.  The definition of "interested parties" is set forth in Article 1 of the Regulations.  It should 
also be noted that questionnaires and forms shall be submitted in accordan ce with the applicable 
provisions of Article 6 of the Agreement on Implem entation of Article VI of the General Agreement 
on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement)  and Article 12 of the Agreement on Subsidies 
and Countervailing Measures. 
 
(c) Article 11 also notes that interested pa rties will have 30 days from the date of 
notification of an investigation to object to the investigation.  To what may interested parties object and what may be possible outcomes of such objection? 
 Reply
 
  Under Nicaraguan law, interested parties may l odge an appeal for a review of the decision to 
initiate the investigation formally.  This review c ould be based on the fact that the initiating resolution 
does not meet the formal and substantive requi rements under the Regulations, the Agreement on G/ADP/Q1/NIC/4 
G/SCM/Q1/NIC/4 Page 4 
 
 
  Implementation of Article VI of the General Ag reement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Anti-Dumping 
Agreement) and the Agreement on S ubsidies and Countervailing Measures.  
 
Question 5  
 
Article 12 (Records and access thereto) and Article 13 (Confidentiality) of the 
Regulations  refer to the access that interested parti es may have to the confidential data 
submitted during the proceeding and information compiled by the investigating authority.  As 
provided for in Article 6.4 of the Anti-Dumpi ng Agreement, will the investigating authority 
place in a public file and make available to interested parties non-confidential summaries of 
internally generated reports such as verificati on reports and the calculations used by the 
investigating authority in determining margins of dumping based on confidential information submitted by all other interested parties? 
 Reply
 
  Article 12 of the Central American Regulations on Unfair Business Practices clearly states that interested parties, their representatives and their counsel, duly accredited for the purpose, shall be 
entitled, at any stage of the proceedings, to examine,  read or copy any document or item of evidence 
in the record, with the exception of confidential information, whic h shall be accessible only to the 
investigating authority and to the party that supplied th e information;  that is to say, not all interested 
parties in the proceedings shall have access to confiden tial information, only the party that supplied it.  
However, under Article 13 of the Regulations, any in terested party providing confidential information 
shall furnish a non-confidential summary thereof, whic h shall be sufficiently explicit so that the other 
interested parties have a clear understanding of the information supplied, for example a generic 
explanation of the data provided, graphs showing data in percentage terms, etc. 
 
Question 6  
 
Articles 15 (Preliminary determ inations), 22 (Final resolution) and 44 (Publication) of 
the Regulations  describe the process for reaching determinations and resolutions about whether 
to impose preliminary or definitive anti-dum ping or countervailing duties, putting that 
resolution into effect, and publishing the pr eliminary and final resolutions.  However, 
Articles 15, 22 and 44 do not explain whether the published preliminary and final resolutions will contain all the information required by Ar ticle 12.2 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and 
Articles 22.3 and 22.5 of the Subsidies Agreement, including "all relevant information on the 
matters of fact and law which have led to argu ments being accepted or rejected", "all relevant 
information on the matters of fact and law and reaso ns which have led to the imposition of final 
measures", and "the reasons for the acceptance or rejection of relevant arguments or claims 
made by the exporters and importers".  Please confirm that Nicaragua will include all such 
information in its published preliminary and fi nal resolutions or will otherwise make such 
information available to interested parties dur ing the course of a proceeding, and publicly 
available following a final determination of a proceeding.  
Reply
 
  Article 4 of the Central American Regulations  on Unfair Business Practices provides that all 
substantive and procedural aspects relating to unfair business practices and not covered by the 
Regulations shall be determined by  the provisions of the instruments referred to in Article 2 of the 
Regulations.  Article 2 of the Re gulations refers to the WTO Agre ements regulating the subject;  
during investigation proceedings, Nicaragua shall ther efore ensure that the provisions of Article 12.2 
of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and Articles 22.3 and 22.5 of the Agreement on Subsidies and  G/ADP/Q1/NIC/4 
 G/SCM/Q1/NIC/4 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Countervailing Measures are observed.  Furthermor e, as explained above, the WTO Agreements on 
this subject already form part of the Nicaraguan legal system and are therefore implemented and enforced.  Question 7  
 
Article 40 (Duration of definitive measures) of the Regulations  states that "Once a 
measure has been adopted, it may be reviewed at any time during its implementation".  In accordance with Article 11 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 21 of the Subsidies 
Agreement:  
(a) Please explain whether interested parties will be able to request a review of the 
measure and what specific steps an interested party would have to take to request a review. 
 
Reply
 
  In accordance with Article 11 of the Anti- Dumping Agreement and Article 21 of the 
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, in terested parties may request a review of the 
measure by submitting a written request to the investigating authority. 
 
(b) Please provide a description of the nature and extent of such reviews.  Is there a 
possibility for dumping margins or duties or countervailing duties to be adjusted following completion of a review, or will reviews only determine whether the measure should be revoked? 
 
Reply
 
  The outcome of reviews conducted in accordan ce with Article 11.2 of the Anti-Dumping 
Agreement and Article 21.2 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures would be 
either adjustment or full termination of  the anti-dumping or countervailing duties. 
 
(c) At the end of a five-year period, will the investigating authority automatically 
conduct an expiry review or must an expiry  review be requested?  If it must be 
requested, who can request an expiry revie w?  If no expiry review is requested, 
will the measure automatically terminate?   What procedures will be followed to 
conduct an expiry review? 
 
Reply
 
  Under Article 11.3 of the Anti-Dumping Agre ement and Article 21.3 of the Agreement on 
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, definitiv e anti-dumping or countervailing duties must be 
terminated on a date not later than five years from that of their imposition, unless the authorities 
determine, in a review initiate d before that date either ex officio  or upon a duly substantiated request 
made by or on behalf of the domestic industry, th at the dumping or subsidy and the injury would be 
likely to continue or recur if the duty were removed.  
 In the absence of a request for a review from a party or on behalf of the domestic industry, 
and where the investigating authority does not decide to initiate a review ex officio , the measure will 
expire within the maximum period that it can remain  in force according to the final resolution under 
which it was imposed.  G/ADP/Q1/NIC/4 
G/SCM/Q1/NIC/4 Page 6 
 
 
  Question 8  
 
Article 44 (Publication) of the Regulations  notes that the resolutions regarding the 
initiation of an anti-dumping or countervailing duty investigation and the imposition of 
provisional and/or final measures will be "publis hed, once only, at the cost of the interested 
party".  What would happen if an interested pa rty refused to pay?  Please identify which 
national newspapers would publish these notificati ons, as well as where the Official Journal of 
the Central American Integration System can be located online. 
 Reply
 
 
Article 44 of the Regulations provides that th e interested party shall cover the cost of 
publication in a national newspaper, which in Nicaragua's case would be El Nuevo Diario , La Prensa , 
or some other such newspaper, but not that of ma ndatory publication in the Official Journal of the 
State Party imposing the measure or the Official Jour nal of the Central American Integration System.  
If the interested party refuses to c over the cost of publication in a national newspaper, the notification 
will simply not appear other than through publicatio n in the official journals of the State Party. 
 
There is as yet no Official Journal of the Central American Integration System. 
 Question 9  
 
Article 46 (Remedies) of the Regulations  states:  "The remedies provided for in the 
domestic legislation of each State Party shall lie against resolutions adopted by national authorities.  The remedies provided for in the legal instruments of Central American 
integration shall lie against decisions adopted by  regional bodies".  Please clarify whether this 
means that the laws and regulations issued by  Nicaragua with regard to the provision of 
remedies are now superseded by these Regulations .  Furthermore, please clarify that all 
decisions with regard to provision of remedies adopted by regional bodies must be taken under the provisions of the Regulations . 
 Reply
 
  Article 46 of the Regulations describes the types of remedy in existence:  firstly, the remedies provided for in the domestic legislation of each Stat e Party, which apply in the event of anti-dumping 
or subsidies investigations conducted in accordance with  the provisions of Title II, Chapters I and II 
of the Regulations, which in Nicaragua's case woul d be those set forth in Law No. 290 – Law on the 
Organization, Jurisdiction and Procedures of the Executive Branch;  and secondly, the remedies 
provided for in the legal instruments of economic integration, which apply in the event of anti-
dumping or subsidies investigations conducted in  accordance with the provisions of Title II, 
Chapter III of the Central American Regul ations on Unfair Business Practices. 
 Question 10  
 
Please explain the meaning of the phrase "causal link within the meaning of the 
WTO Agreements" in Article 38 of the Regulations .  Is this intended to be a reference to 
Article 3.5 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and Article 15.5 of the Subsidies Agreement? 
 
Reply
 
  It is, yes. 
__________