WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/ADP/Q1/COL/5 
G/SCM/Q1/COL/5 19 October 2010 
 
 
(10-5393) 
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 the Questions Posed by the UNITED STATES
1 
Regarding the Notification of COLOMBIA2 
   The following communication, dated 12 October 2010, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Colombia. 
 
_______________ 
  
Question 1 
 
 Please clarify what steps parties must take to be considered an 'interested party' under Article 4 - Definitions
 of the Decree .  Do parties have to register to be considered an interested 
party?  If so, please explain the registration pr ocess and any relevant deadlines for registration. 
 
Reply  
 
 Colombia’s regulations do not determine any re gistration procedure in order to be considered 
an interested party.  Article 4 of Decree 2550 of 2010 defines those considered to be interested parties, 
but it is not exhaustive and does not prevent the competent authority from allowing the inclusion of Colombian nationals or foreigners  other than those mentioned. 
 
 Pursuant to Article 29 of Decree 2550/2010, with in seven working days following the date of 
publication of the resolution ordering the initiation of  the investigation, the Colombian investigating 
authority, in a written notification, indicates that the investigation has been initiated.  It also forwards 
to importers or exporters concerned by th e application or determined in the DIAN
3 database the forms 
designed for the purpose of requiring information on the case, to the address indicated, and to the 
diplomatic or consular representatives of the count ry of origin or of export, as well as making the 
public version of the file available for consultation. 
  Other interested parties are convened within  the same deadline, by means of a notice 
published once only in a national news paper with broad circulation, so that they may express their 
duly substantiated opinion a nd present or request the evidence they consider relevant (Article 29, 
Decree 2550/2010).  
                                                     
 
1 G/ADP/Q1/COL/4-G/SCM/Q1/COL/4. 
2 G/ADP/N/1/COL/3. 
3 National Revenue and Customs Directorate. G/ADP/Q1/COL/5 
G/SCM/Q1/COL/5 Page 2 
 
 
   In accordance with the foregoing, those parti es which respond to the questionnaires or to the 
public notice are deemed to be interested parties.  
Question 2 
 
 Paragraph 2 of Article 20 – Period for examination of injury
 of the Decree  states: "With 
regard to threat of injury, the examination period shall be that indicated in the preceding paragraph, unless the domestic producers show that this period is not relevant." 
 
• Under what conditions would the period mentioned in the first paragraph of 
Article 20, that is, three years preceding the submission of the application, be considered not relevant? 
 
• In addition, please clarify whether the three years referenced in the 
first paragraph of Article 20 refers to the three most recent calendar years or the six most recent half years? 
 
Reply
 
  The following clarification is given with regard to paragraph 2 of Article 20 of 
Decree 2550/2010:  
Colombia considers that the period for coll ecting data in order to determine injury 
shall normally be a minimum of three years.  In the case of threat of injury, however, 
it is considered that the domestic industry in  respect of which data is being collected 
may be given a shorter time for examination,  if the enterprise has only recently been 
set up and is not yet engaged in continuous production. 
 
The last paragraph of Article 20 clarifies that, when assessing injury, the information 
shall be submitted in detail, preferably broken down into half-yearly periods.  
Accordingly, determination of injury is made on the basis of an examination of the figures submitted for six half-yearly calendar periods.  
 
Question 3 
 
 Please confirm that the "...degree of support among domestic producers..." in Article 23 
– Application by or on behalf of the domestic industry  of the Decree  refers to the language 
provided in Article 21 – [Domestic industry] Concept  of the Decree . 
 
Reply  
  We confirm that when we refer to "…. degree of support among domestic producers" in 
Article 23 this relates to the concept of "Domestic industry" in Article 21. 
 
Question 4 
 
 Article 24 – Requirements and submission of the application
 of the Decree  notes that 
officially translated documents must be provided to  the investigating authorities.  Please explain 
what is meant by an 'official' translation. 
  G/ADP/Q1/COL/5 
 G/SCM/Q1/COL/5 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Reply  
  Article 24 provides that the information in an application for an investigation must be in 
Spanish, in accordance with Co lombia’s Political Constitution. 
 
 The expression "Official translation
", as required by Colombian re gulations, refers to those 
cases in which a document is submitted in a fore ign language, when it must be accompanied by a 
translation by a translator officially registered with the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 Question 5 
 
 Article 32 – Examination of evidence
 of the Decree  states:  "The time limit for 
examination of evidence shall expire two months after the date of publication of the resolution 
containing the preliminary determination."  Please explain the intent of this provision.  For 
example, does this provision mean that addition al evidence cannot be placed on the record of 
the proceeding more than two months after th e date of publication of the preliminary 
resolution?  Will the investigating authority co ntinue to examine the evidence on the record 
following this two-month time-limit? 
 
Reply  
 
 According to Colombia’s legal provisions (Code  of Administrative Litigation and Code of 
Civil Procedure), the time-limits for the request fo r and examination of evidence are determined in 
order to guarantee due process and prevent delays in proceedings.  
 In the case of an anti-dumping investigation, the intent of the two-month period is to 
guarantee all interested parties the right to defend their interests so that, within this period, the 
evidence requested by them and whic h they consider useful, necessary a nd effective in order to verify 
the facts investigated is examined, and this may occur as of the initiation of the investigation. 
  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the investiga ting authority is empowered by the Trade 
Practices Committee to require and examine ev idence ex officio from the initiation of the 
investigation until formulation of the final recommenda tion, if it considers this useful, necessary and 
effective in order to veri fy the facts investigated. 
 
Question 6 
 
 The last paragraph of Article 34 – Verifi cation visits in the country investigated
 of the 
Decree  notes that if the investigating authority undertakes verifications at the request of 
interested parties, those interested parties will be required to pay for those verifications.  Please 
clarify the meaning of this provision. 
 
• If the petitioning industry requests that the investigating authority conduct 
verification in a specific case, what  specific expenses would the domestic 
petitioning industry be required to cover? 
 
• Are there any expenses that the respondent companies would be required to 
cover?  If so, please specify what those expenses are (e.g. travel expenses, lodging 
and meals, the cost of hiring translators, etc.). 
 G/ADP/Q1/COL/5 
G/SCM/Q1/COL/5 Page 4 
 
 
  • Please explain how it is appropriate fo r respondent companies to pay for the 
costs associated with verification, when v erification is an activity for which the 
investigating authority is responsible. 
 Reply
 
  In response to the question on the provision in  the Paragraph in Article 34, the following 
aspects are clarified in the same order as that followed by the United States: 
 
• If the request for the in situ  investigation is made by the domestic industry, the latter 
is directly responsible for paying the travel (including tickets for air or land transport) 
and accommodation (for food and lodging) costs of the investigating team according 
to the scale drawn up by the National Government for missions abroad by government officials; 
 
• If the request for the verification visit is ma de by the enterprises investigated and is 
not requested by any other interested party,  likewise, they must cover the travel and 
accommodation costs of the investigating team .  If more than one party requests the 
visit, the costs are shared equally among all interested parties.  For this purpose, the investigating authority will officially notify the amount of these costs. 
  The provision in the Paragraph in Artic le 34 applies when verification visits in situ  are 
requested by one or more interested parties.  If th e investigating authority determines ex officio that a 
visit is necessary, it will be responsible for the co sts incurred for travel by the government team.  
Nevertheless, in many instances, visits cannot take place because the Government does not have 
sufficient economic resources.  This is why it was considered appropriate for one or more of the 
parties requesting the visit to bear the costs in order to ensure that the visit can be conducted. 
 Question 7 
 
 With regard to Article 35. – Public hearings of interested parties
 of the Decree  please 
clarify how interested parties will be made aware of the time, date, and place of the hearing. 
 
• Will interested parties have to register to attend the hearing?  If so, what are the 
registration requirements to attend a hearing? 
 
• Will the hearings be open for observation for companies or individuals not 
registered as interested parties to the investigation? 
 
• Will the outcome of hearings and all do cuments and rebuttals provided at the 
hearing be made part of the official case file, including non-confidential versions 
of confidential documents submitted? 
 
Reply  
  The following clarification is given with regard to the questions on the provisions in 
Article 35 on public hearings: 
 
(1) Within ten days following the date of publi cation of the preliminary resolution, any 
interested party may request the investiga ting authority to hold a public hearing.  G/ADP/Q1/COL/5 
 G/SCM/Q1/COL/5 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (2) Within five days of the request, the investigating authority convenes a hearing, which 
may be held one month later. It is conve ned by means of a notification sent to all 
parties interested in the investigation,  indicating the date, time and place of the 
hearing. 
(3) The notification indicates the time-limit and the procedure for interested parties to 
register their names, business name and identification number before the hearing is held.  In addition, a document is provided c ontaining the rules and steps to be taken 
for participation in and conduct of the hearing. 
(4) In accordance with the foregoing, the inves tigating authority usua lly holds a meeting 
the day before the hearing to  allow interested parties to  confirm which persons will 
participate in the hearing, divided in to three groups:  (i) domestic producers 
(complainants);  (ii) importers;  and (iii) the government of the country of origin of 
the product investigated and/or exporters. 
The persons designated to participate in the hearing may give the floor to other 
persons who provide technical support for their statements. 
 
(5) The convening and holding of the aforesaid hearing does not oblige interested parties 
to attend and their absence will not be prejudicial to their case. 
(6) The investigating authority will only take into account the arguments put forward in 
the course of the hearing if they are reprodu ced in writing and made available to other 
interested parties within three days foll owing the holding of the hearing, and are 
placed in the public version of the file on the investigation for consultation by all 
interested parties.  In holding such heari ngs, account shall be taken of the need to 
protect the confidentiality of the information provided. 
 
__________