WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/ADP/AHG/W/193 
5 October 2011  
 
(11-4834) 
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices 
Working Group on Implementation Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
ARTICLE 11.3 - SUNSET REVIEWS 
 
Paper by Colombia 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 4 October 2011, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Colombia.  
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  Colombia is pleased to submit to the Workin g Group on Implementation the following paper 
describing how the investigating authority, the Sub- Directorate of Trade Practices in the Directorate 
of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, conducts the 
sunset reviews provided for in Article  11.3 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement. 
 
1. WTO rule 
 Article 11.3 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement provides as follows: 
  " 11.3 Notwithstanding the provisions of par agraphs 1 and 2, any definitive anti-dumping 
duty shall be terminated on a date not later than five years from its imposition (or from the date of the most recent review under paragr aph 2 if that review has covered both dumping 
and injury, or under this paragraph), unless the authorities determine, in a review initiated 
before that date on their own initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by or on 
behalf of the domestic industry within a reasonable period of time prior to that date, that the 
expiry of the duty would be likely to lead to  continuation or recurrence of dumping and 
injury.  The duty may remain in force pending the outcome of such a review ". 
 
2. Colombian legal framework 
 Chapter VIII - "REVIEW AND EXAMINATION OF ANTI-DUMPING DUTIES AND 
PRICE UNDERTAKINGS" - of Decree No. 2550 of 2010 regulating the application of anti-dumping 
duties provides as follows: 
 
 ARTICLE 62.  ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEWS.  At an y time, the investigating authority may 
either ex officio or at the request of an interest ed party provided that at least one year has 
elapsed since the imposition of the definitive anti-dumping duties or the acceptance of the 
price undertakings, initiate a review process for the purpose of establishi ng whether there has 
been a change in the circumstances that gave grounds for their imposition or acceptance 
sufficient to justify varying such determination . 
 G/ADP/AHG/W/193 
Page 2  
 
   If a foreign producer or exporter subject to the imposition of a definitive duty reduces the 
export price in such a way as to nullify the remedi al effect of the duty, the procedure provided 
herein shall be initiated. 
 
 In any event, the interested party requesting a review shall be required to prove that there has 
been a change in circumstances that justifies its request. 
 
 ARTICLE 63.  PURPOSE OF THE REVIEW.  In the application for review, interested parties 
may request the investigating authority to exami ne the margins of dumping, the normal value 
and the export price determined during the immediately preceding year, and as a 
consequence of such review to vary or remove the duty imposed or terminate acceptance of 
the price undertaking. 
 
 Likewise, interested parties may request the in vestigating authority to examine whether the 
continued imposition of the definitive anti-dumping duty or acceptance of the price 
undertaking is necessary to offset the adverse effects of dumping which it is intended to 
remedy, as well as the likelihood of the injury continuing or recurring if the duty were removed or modified or acceptance of the price undertaking was terminated. 
 
 ARTICLE 64.  FIVE-YEAR REVIEW.  Notwithst anding the foregoing provisions, any 
definitive anti-dumping duty shall be terminated on a date not later than five years from its 
imposition or from the date of the most recent review if that review has covered both dumping 
and injury, or of the most recent review under th is Article, unless the authorities determine, 
pursuant to a review initiated before that date on their own initiative or upon a duly substantiated request made by  or on behalf of the domestic industry within a reasonable 
period of time prior to that date, that the removal of the anti-dumping duty imposed would be 
likely to lead to continuation or recurrence of  the dumping and injury it was intended to 
correct. 
 
 The review may be initiated ex officio not later than two months before the fifth year 
calculated in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, or upon request by 
the domestic industry, at least four months before the end of the fifth year. 
 
 The definitive anti-dumping duties shall remain in force pending the outcome of the review. 
 
3. Colombian practice 
 Article 11 of the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement does not explicitly state how the 
investigating authority should conduct a sunset re view analysis;  however, Sections I to III of 
Chapter VIII of Colombian Decree No. 2550 of 2010 es tablish a procedure for examining applications 
for the review and examination of anti-dumping duties, including where such review and examination are requested due to changes in circumstances.   In this respect, it is important to note that for this procedure, the investigating authority 
applies the one established in Chapter IV of Decr ee No. 2550, namely that used for original 
investigations.   In order to conduct a sunset review or exam ination, Colombia verifies the following aspects: 
 
(a) The existence of positive margins of dumping; 
(b) the existence of injury to the domestic  industry and the recurrence thereof;  G/ADP/AHG/W/193 
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  (c) the causal link between the dumped imports and the injury suffered by the domestic 
industry. 
Existence of a dumping margin 
 
 In order to determine the likelihood of the recurrence of dumping, the 
Colombian investigating authority examines the information on normal value provided by the 
applicants and compares this value w ith the export price at the same le vel of trade.  This calculation is 
made only when the anti-dumping duties have  been in effect for five (5) years. 
  It should be noted that the investigating author ity can only begin to review and recalculate the 
dumping margin established in the original investigati on if requested to do so and provided with the 
necessary evidence by the applicant.   There are three particular types of analysis  or case scenario for paragraphs (b) and (c): 
 
 Analysis based on real figures 
 
In this case, the Colombian investigating aut hority bases its analysis  on information covering 
the five (5) years that the anti-dumping duties have been in effect, a period of time in which it is 
assumed that the domestic industry's economic and financial indicators have shown recovery as a 
result of the duties applied, thus reflecting the effectiveness of the anti-dumping measure.  
 Prospective analysis with a view to maintainin g anti-dumping duties due to the recurrence of 
dumping, injury and the causal link 
 
In this case, the investigating authority asks th e applicant or applicants for projected economic 
and financial figures in order to determine whet her the positive effect on the domestic industry's 
indicators would continue if the anti-dumping duties were maintained. 
 
 Prospective analysis with a view to removing anti-dumping duties 
 
In this case, the investigating authority asks th e applicant or applicants for projected economic 
and financial figures in order to determine whether th e injury to the domestic industry, as reflected by 
the negative performance of its economic and financia l indicators, would recur if the anti-dumping 
duties were removed. 
 
Colombian legislation also provides for administ rative reviews with a view to determining 
whether or not to extend the decision to accept price undertakings.  
Similarly, the Colombian investigating authority,  at the request of an exporter or producer of 
the product subject to definitive anti-dumping duties, may initiate a review proc edure to determine the 
appropriate individual dumping margins.  
For these purposes, the exporter or producer of the product subject to definitive anti-dumping 
duties must submit an application accompanied by documentation showing that the exporter or 
producer did not export the product subject to the imposition of anti-dumping duties during the 
investigation period and is not rela ted to any exporter or producer in the country exporting the product 
subject to anti-dumping duties to Colombia.  G/ADP/AHG/W/193 
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  4. Controversial aspects of sunset reviews 
 During investigations conducted by the Colomb ian authority, the most debated and recurrent 
issues to arise in administrative a nd sunset reviews are the following: 
 
 Calculation of dumping margin 
 
In this respect, the Colombian authority not es that the Anti-Dumping Agreement contains no 
clear parameters defining the procedure that should be  followed in administrative or sunset reviews to 
determine whether a new calculation of the dump ing margin should be made, in which case the 
applicant should provide evidence of normal value,  or whether the dumping margin calculated in the 
original investigation, brought to the present value, should be used. 
 
 Time-frames for prospective analysis 
 
In this connection, the Colombian authority notes that the Anti-Dumping Agreement contains 
no clear rules on the procedure to be followed in sunset reviews for establishing the time-frames to be 
foreseen by an applicant to prove the recurrence of injury to the domestic industry, which would 
warrant continued application of the anti-dumping duties. 
 
 Guarantees for interested parties 
 
Throughout every review process, and in  order to guarantee due process, the 
Colombian authority seeks to ensure that interest ed parties have full opportunity to express their 
views and defend their interests, through notif ications, questionnaires and the publication of 
administrative acts both in the Colombian Official J ournal and on the Ministry of Commerce, Industry 
and Tourism website.  In all its sunset reviews, th e Colombian authority also ensures that a complete 
and up-to-date public file is made available to a ll interested parties throughout the investigation. 
 
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