WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SG/Q1/PAN/2 
7 September 2009 
 (09-4214) 
Committee on Safeguards Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER  
ARTICLE 12.6 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES Regarding
 
the Notification of PANAMA1 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 3 September 2009, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the United States.    
_______________ 
 
  The United States thanks Panama for its notif ication and poses the following questions with 
regard to Panama's notification of the Executive Decree No. 1 of 8 January 2009 "Regulating Decree 
Law No. 7 of 15 February 2006, which establishes rules for the protection and safeguarding of 
national production and enacting other provisions"  [hereinafter Executive Decree ].   
 
Question 1 
 
 Is the WTO Agreement on Safeguards (the Agreement on Safeguards) self implementing 
under Panamanian law?  Assuming that the Agreement is self-implementing, in the event of a conflict 
between the Agreement and the Executive Decree,  which legal authority takes precedence?   
 
Question 2 
 
 Article 32(e) (Investigation period
) states that the period for gathering data with respect to 
increased imports would normally be three years but could be as short as 12 months.  Please explain 
the circumstances under which Panama might collect  data on increased imports for a period of less 
than three years?  
Question 3 
 
 Article 34 (Examination of similarity
) states that Panama will compare the imported and 
domestic products to decide which parties qualify as interested parties.  Please explain how Panama 
will undertake such a comparison early in the investiga tion and ensure that interested party status is 
appropriately granted to foreign producers and e xporters and other entities requesting such status, 
particularly if only limited information is available during the early stages of an investigation.  This 
situation may arise, for example, if the tariff classification of the imported product depends on 
customs rulings or is otherwise unclear. 
 
                                                      
1 G/SG/N/1/PAN/2/Suppl.1. G/SG/Q1/PAN/2 
Page 2  
 
  Question 4  
 
 Article 35(b) (ix)-(x) (Determination of serious injury
) refers to decisions made using "a more 
restricted group or range of products that includes the like or directly competitive product."    
 (a) Please explain what is meant by th e phrase "more restricted group or range of 
products."  Please indicate whether Panama will seek to gather data on both the 
overall operations of the production line (o r plant) and on the operations relating 
solely to the like or directly competitive pr oduct, or will the Investigating Authority 
gather data on the latter only when meaningful data on production line (or plant) 
operations are not available.  
  (b) Please confirm that this restricted gr oup of products will be clearly identified in 
public notifications, and that data in the investigatory process will refer to the same 
product and/or group of products. 
 
Question 5 
 
 Article 40(a) (Types of safeguards
) states that the Investigating Authority, in imposing a 
safeguard measure, may take into consideration, as guidance, the difference in prices between the 
weighted average import price of the imported produc t and the highest price of the like or directly 
competitive domestic product for local consumption.  
  (a) Please explain how taking into consider ation such a difference would be consistent 
with Article 5.1 of the WTO Safeguards Agreement, which states that a measure should be applied "only to the extent necess ary to prevent or remedy serious injury 
and to facilitate adjustment."   
  (b) Please explain how Panama would addr ess the second part of the requirement in 
Article 5.1, that the measure "facilitate adjustment"?  
 
Question 6 
 
 Article 45 (Access to the file
) appears to limit access to the non-confidential (public) file only 
to government officials and interested parties, as defined in Article 32(d).     (a) Please indicate whether there will be a public file that includes the petition and the 
various submissions of interested parti es that will be open for inspection to all 
persons, including interested parties and othe r persons with an interest of any kind in 
the matter.   
  (b) Please indicate whether persons other than  persons designated as interested persons 
under Article 32(d) will have the right to review and make copies of documents in 
that file.   
 
Question 7 
 
 Article 49 (Professional representation
) states as follows:  "Pursuant to Article 50 of Law 
No. 38 of 2000, any action by parties in administ rative proceedings on trade safeguards shall be 
through a competent attorney...".   (a) Please explain what is meant by the term "competent attorney" and describe any 
special qualifications that such a pers on must have to obtain such status.   G/SG/Q1/PAN/2 
 Page 3 
 
 
   (b) Please indicate whether only persons, fi rms, or associations that have hired a 
"competent attorney" are eligible to par ticipate in a safeguard proceeding as an 
interested party. 
  (c) Please describe the "actions" or functions that may be performed only by a 
"competent attorney" and indicate whether the "competent attorney" must prepare 
and/or sign or certify all documents submitted by an interested party in the proceeding.   
 
Question 8 
 
 Article 156 (Notification and public notice of the resolution
) states that the Investigating 
Authority must publish an excerpt of its resoluti on announcing initiation of a safeguard investigation 
either in the Gaceta Oficial  or in a national newspaper with broad distribution, and Article 170 
(Conditions and requirements ) contains a similar requirement for publication of notices under that 
article in either the Gaceta Oficial  or a national newspaper.  Howeve r, Article 175 (Convening of the 
final hearing ) and Article 206 (Application of measures ) simply require publication of notices under 
those articles in a national newspaper.   (a) In the case of notices published under Articles 156 and 170, what criteria will the 
Investigating Authority use in decidi ng whether to publish a notice in the Gaceta 
Oficial  or in a national newspaper? 
  (b) How will a person with an interest in safeguard matters know where to look for a 
notice, particularly if the Investigating Authority has a choice of publication sites and does not follow a consistent practi ce in safeguard investigations?   
 
 (c) Why are the publication requirements for Articles 175 and 206 different?     (d) Will Panama also publish notices on an offi cial government website?  If so, what is 
the internet address of that website? 
 Question 9 
 
 Article 160 (Admissibility and rejection of evidence
) indicates that the Investigating 
Authority will decide what evid ence is admissible and what evidence is not admissible.  Article 161  
(Period for examining evidence ) provides for furnishing the evidence within 15 days once it has been 
decided that the evidence is admissible.   
  (a) Please describe the procedures the Inves tigating Authority will follow in deciding 
what evidence is admissible.   
  (b) Please indicate what opportunities will be gi ven to interested parties to argue for or 
against admission of particular evidence.   
  (c) Please indicate whether the Investig ating Authority will issue written reasons 
explaining its decision to admit or reject particular evidence, and if so, please indicate whether those reasons will be explained at the time the decision is made to admit or 
reject the evidence, or later in the report i ssued at the conclusion of the investigation, 
which sets forth the Investigating Authority's findings and reasoned conclusions on all pertinent issues of fact and law. G/SG/Q1/PAN/2 
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  Question 10  
 
 With regard to Article 175 (Convening of the hearing
),  
  (a) Please explain how this Article, which indicates that the hearing will be held after the 
evidence is submitted , is consistent with Article  174 (object and purpose of the 
hearing ), which states that the object and pur pose of the hearing "is to inform and 
hear parties to the proceedings regardin g the essential facts under consideration and 
used as a basis for the decision."  
 
 (b) Please also explain how Articles 174 and 175 are consistent with Article 3.1 of the 
WTO Safeguards Agreement, which requires that Members hold a public hearing or provide other appropriate means for inter ested parties to present evidence and their 
views.    
 
 (c) Please also explain the circumstances unde r which a party previously designated as 
an interested party may be denied the opportunity to appear at a public hearing and how such a denial is consistent with Ar ticle 3.1 of the WTO Safeguards Agreement.   
 
Question 11 
  Article 176 (Communication of essential facts
) and Article 177 (Procedure at the hearing ) 
describe the materials that will be placed on the record of the case, and specifically identify the 
essential facts that serve as a basis for the determination (Article 176) and the transcript of the hearing 
(Article 177).    
 (a) Please indicate whether the parties, including parties designated as interested parties, 
will have the opportunity to submit written in formation and legal briefs or arguments.  
  (b) If so, when will they have that opportunity  and will those submissions be part of the 
record of the investigation and be taken in to account in making the determination?   
 
 (c) Please also indicate whether the final argume nts of the interested parties, described in 
Article 178 (Presentation of final arguments
), will be part of the record and 
considered in making the determination. 
 
Question 12 
 
 Article 179 (Definitive determination ) authorizes the National Director for the 
Implementation of Treaties and Safeguarding Trad e to extend the time limit for making a final 
determination.     (a) Please indicate how long the final d ecision may be extended and whether such a 
decision may be extended more than once. 
  (b) Please indicate how a decision to extend  the time limit for the final decision will be 
communicated to the interested parties?   
 
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