WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SG/N/1/CRI/3
4 November 2002
(02-6053)
Committee on Safeguards Original:  Spanish
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS, REGULATIONS AND ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES RELATING TO SAFEGUARD MEASURES
COSTA RICA
The following communication, dated 30 October 2002, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Costa Rica.
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Pursuant to Article 12.6 of the Agreement on Safeguards of the GATT 1994, we submit
herewith a copy of Decree No. 30637-MEIC establishing the Office of Unfair Business Practices and
Safeguard Measures, under the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade, as the competent
authority for all administrative procedures involving the application of safeguard measures.  This
Decree amends Decree No. 24772-MEIC-MAG (dul y notified in document G/SG/N/1/CRI/2) as
concerns the designation of the competent authority.G/SG/N/1/CRI/3
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No. 30637-MEIC
THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC AND THE MINISTER OF THE ECONOMY,
INDUSTRY AND TRADE
In application of the powers conferred by subparagraphs (3) and (18) of Article 140 of the
Constitution, subparagraph 2(b) of Article 28 of the General Law on Public Administration,
Articles 10 and 11 of the Law on Industrial Protection and Development (Law No. 2426 of
18 May 1960), Article 25 of the Convention on the Central American Tariff and Customs Regime
(Law No. 6986 of 3 May 1985), Article 1 of the Central American Regulations on Unfair Business
Practices (Executive Decree No. 24868-MEIC of 31 January 1996), Article 5 of the Organic Law ofthe Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade (Law No. 6054 of 23 June 1977 and amendments
thereto), and Article 5(b) of the Regulations to the Organic Law (Decree No. 29117-MEIC of
6 December 2000);
Whereas:
1. The Law on Industrial Protection and Development, Law No. 2426 of 18 May 1960, provides
the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade with the authority to take such measures as are
necessary to counter unfair trade practices;
2. By Official Communication DM-822-95 of 4 September 1995, the Ministry of National
Planning and Economic Policy approved the restructuring of the Ministry of the Economy, Industry
and Trade authorizing the creation of the Office of Unfair Business Practices and Safeguard
Measures;
3. By Official Communication DM-23-00 of 7 April 2000, the Ministry of National Planning
and Economic Policy approved the restructuring of the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Tradeinvolving, inter alia , the transfer of the functions of the Office of Unfair Business Practices and
Safeguard Measures to the Legal Affairs Unit;  and in this connection, the said Ministry stated that the
restructuring study that had been submitted lacked th e legal analysis needed to justify transferring the
functions of the Office of Unfair Business Practices and Safeguard Measures to the Legal Affairs Unit
because it caused an unwarranted overlapping of functions;
4. The Regulations to the Organic Law of the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade,
Executive Decree No. 29117-MEIC of 6 December 2000, transferred the functions of the Office ofUnfair Business Practices and Safeguard Measures to the Legal Affairs Unit;
5. In the light of the international commitments assumed by Costa Rica as reflected in the
agreements of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Tr ade Negotiations and the technical nature of the
administrative procedure, it was decided to accept the observations made by the Ministry of National
Planning and Economic Policy set forth in Official Communication DM-23-00 of 7 April 2000;
6. There is a pressing need to set up an Office of Unfair Business Practices and Safeguard
Measures under the Office of the Minister and operating independently of any Ministerial Unit;G/SG/N/1/CRI/3
Page 3
Therefore decree:
Article 1. – Subparagraphs (g) and (i) of Article 8 of Executive Decree No. 29117-MEIC of
6 December 2000 are hereby deleted.
Article 2. – The Office of Unfair Business Practices  and Safeguard Measures is hereby created under
the Office of the Minister, with the responsibility of dealing on an exclusive basis with cases
involving unfair business practices and safeguard measures, except cases in which international
treaties grant competence to other branches, in whic h case those branches shall work in cooperation
with the Office of Unfair Business Practices and Safeguard Measures.
Article 3. – The purpose of the Office is to act as a technical unit responsible for conducting the
administrative procedures involved in the imposition of anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, or
the application of safeguard measures.
Article 4. – The Regulations to the Organic Law of  the Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Trade,
Executive Decree No. 29117-MEIC of 6 December 2000, are hereby amended to include thefollowing Article, which shall appear as Article 8 bis:
Article 8. bis - The Office of Unfair Business Practices and Safeguard Measures shall act as
advisor to the Office of the Minister and shall have the following functions:
(a) To advise the Office of the Minister and other entities in the Ministry on dumping,
subsidies and the imposition of safeguard measures;
(b) to advise the domestic productive sectors on the functioning of the Office;
(c) to provide guidance to the interested parties on the use of international mechanisms of
protection against unfair business practices and on the imposition of safeguard
measures;
(d) to advise interested parties on the proper filing of a complaint and on the gathering of
relevant evidence;
(e) to receive and transmit complaints concerning unfair business practices relating either
to dumping or subsidies;
(f) to receive and transmit applications for the imposition of safeguard measures;
(g) to carry out relevant studies to determine the appropriateness of the complaints of
unfair business practices or the need to impose safeguard measures.
Article 5. – This Decree shall come into force upon publication.
Done in the Office of the President of the Republic, San José, on the 12
th day of August 2002.
ABEL PACHECO DE LA ESPRIELLA. – Minister of the Economy, Industry and Trade, Vilma
Villalobos Carvajal. – One – (Request No. 1547). – C-20810. – (D30637-61728).
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