WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/ADP/Q1/CRI/7 
G/SCM/Q1/CRI/7 9 April 2008 
 
(08-1622) 
Committee 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 COSTA RICA1 
   The following communication, dated 7 April 2008, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the United States.   
 
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  The United States thanks Costa Rica for its notification and poses the following questions 
with regard to Cost Rica's Notification of La ws and Regulations Under Articles 18.5 of the WTO 
Agreement on Antidumping and 32.6 of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing 
Measures, Resolution No. 193-2007 (COMIECO-XLIV) :  Central American Regulations on Unfair 
Business Practices (hereinafter Regulations ).   
 
Question 1 
 
Are the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on 
Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Antidumping Agreemen t) and the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures (Subsidies Agreement) self-im plementing under Costa Rican law?  Also, in 
potential cases of conflict between the Antidumping Agreement or Subsidies Agreement and the 
Regulations  which legislation would have precedent?   
 
Question 2 
 
Please clarify whether antidumping and countervailing duty proceedings currently in 
progress, as well as potential reviews of definitiv e measures, shall be governed by the prior 
Regulations on Unfair Business Practices or by the newly-notified  Regulations .   
 
Question 3 
 
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 competent for ma tters 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 cas e of regional procedures".  However, it is not 
entirely clear who the investigating authority will be  for an antidumping or countervailing action, nor 
how the Secretariat for Central American Economic Integration (SIECA) will function with regards to 
                                                     
 
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  an antidumping or countervailing duty investigation.  Please clarify whether ther e 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 
antidumping and countervailing duty process.  What role  will SIECA play with regards to initiation of 
antidumping and countervailing duty investigatio ns and determining whether the dumped or 
subsidized imports materially in jure the domestic industry?   
 
Question 4 
 
Article 1 (Definitions) of the Regulations  notes that interested parties shall be defined in 
accordance with Article 6.11 of the Antidumping Agreement and Article 12.9 of the Subsidies 
Agreement.  Will parties be required to register as an "interested party" under Costa Rican law and, if 
so, what will be the time limit for such registration?    Question 5 
 
Article 11 (Resolution for the initiation of an investigation) of the Regulations  does not make 
clear who will receive questionnaires following the resolution to initiate an investigation.   
 a. Please clarify who will receive the questionnaires and what the time limits will be for 
responding to such questionnaires as per Article 6.1.1 and footnote 15 of the 
Antidumping Agreement and Article 12.1.1 and footnote 40 of the Subsidies 
Agreement.   
 
b. Could Costa Rica also please clarify whether all interested parties will be notified or 
whether only those parties named as defendant s will be notified of the investigation 
initiation?   
 
c. Article 11 notes that interested parties w ill have 30 days from the date of notification 
of an investigation to object to the inves tigation.  To what may interested parties 
object and what may be possible outcomes of such objection?   
 
Question 6 
 
Article 12 (Records and access thereto) a nd Article 13 (Confid entiality) of the Regulations  
refer to the access that interested parties may ha ve to the confidential data submitted during the 
proceeding and information compiled by the investigating authority.  As provided  for in Article 6.4 of 
the Antidumping Agreement, will the investigating aut hority place in a public file and make available 
to interested parties non-confidential summaries of in ternally generated reports such as verification 
reports and the calculations used by the investig ating authority in determining margins of dumping 
based on confidential information submitted by all other interested parties?   
 Question 7 
 
Articles 15 (Preliminary determinations), 22 (F inal resolution) and 44 (Publication) of the 
Regulations  describe the process for reaching determinati ons and resolutions about whether to impose 
preliminary or definitive antidumping or countervailing duties, putting that resolution into effect, and 
publishing the preliminary and final resolutions.  However, Articles 15, 22 and 44 do not explain 
whether the published preliminary and final resoluti ons will contain all the information required by 
Article 12.2 of the Antidumping Agreement and Arti cles 22.3 and 22.5 of the Subsidies Agreement, 
including "all relevant information on the matters of  fact and law which have led to arguments being 
accepted or rejected", "all relevant information on th e matters of fact and law and reasons which have  G/ADP/Q1/CRI/7 
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  led to the imposition of final measur es", and "the reasons for the accep tance or rejection of relevant 
arguments or claims made by the exporters and importers".  Please confirm that Costa Rica will include all such information in its published prelim inary and final resolutions or will otherwise make 
such information available to interested parti es during the course of a proceeding, and publicly 
available following a final determination of a proceeding.   
 
Question 8 
 
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 Antidumping 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.   
 
b. Please provide a description of the nature a nd 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 w ill reviews only determine whether the 
measure should be revoked?   
 
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 review?  If no expiry review is requested, will 
the measure automatically terminate?  Wh at procedures will be followed to conduct 
an expiry review?   
 
Question 9 
 
Article 44 (Publication) of the Regulations  notes that the resolutions regarding the initiation 
of an antidumping or countervailing duty investigat ion and the imposition of provisional and/or final 
measures will be "published, once only, at the cost of  the interested party".  What would happen if the 
interested party refused to pay?  Please identif y which national newspape rs would publish these 
notifications, as well as where the Official Journal of  the Central American Integration System can be 
located online.    Question 10 
 
Article 46 (Remedies) of the Regulations  states:  "The remedies pr ovided for in the domestic 
legislation of each State Party shall lie against resolutions adopted by na tional 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 Costa Rica with regard to the provi sion of remedies are now superseded by these 
Regulations .  Furthermore, please clarify that all decisi ons with regard to provision of remedies 
adopted by regional bodies must be taken under the provisions of the Regulations .   
 
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