Agreement on Implementation of Article VI (Anti-dumping) Back to top
Article VI of the GATT provides for the right of contracting parties to apply
anti-dumping measures, i.e. measures against imports of a product at an export
price below its "normal value" (usually the price of the product in the domestic
market of the exporting country) if such dumped imports cause injury to a
domestic industry in the territory of the importing contracting party. More detailed
rules governing the application of such measures are currently provided in an
Anti-dumping Agreement concluded at the end of the Tokyo Round. Negotiations in
the Uruguay Round have resulted in a revision of this Agreement which addresses
many areas in which the current Agreement lacks precision and detail.
In particular, the revised Agreement provides for greater clarity and more detailed
rules in relation to the method of determining that a product is dumped, the
criteria to be taken into account in a determination that dumped imports cause
injury to a domestic industry, the procedures to be followed in initiating and
conducting anti-dumping investigations, and the implementation and duration of
anti-dumping measures. In addition, the new agreement clarifies the role of dispute
settlement panels in disputes relating to anti-dumping actions taken by domestic
authorities.
On the methodology for determining that a product is exported at a dumped price,
the new Agreement adds relatively specific provisions on such issues as criteria for
allocating costs when the export price is compared with a "constructed" normal
value and rules to ensure that a fair comparison is made between the export price
and the normal value of a product so as not to arbitrarily create or inflate
margins of dumping.
The agreement strengthens the requirement for the importing country to establish a
clear causal relationship between dumped imports and injury to the domestic
industry. The examination of the dumped imports on the industry concerned must
include an evaluation of all relevant economic factors bearing on the state of the
industry concerned. The agreement confirms the existing interpretation of the term
"domestic industry". Subject to a few exceptions, "domestic industry" refers to the
domestic producers as a whole of the like products or to those of them whose
collective output of the products constitutes a major proportion of the total
domestic production of those products.
Clear-cut procedures have been established on how anti-dumping cases are to be
initiated and how such investigations are to be conducted. Conditions for ensuring
that all interested parties are given an opportunity to present evidence are set out.
Provisions on the application of provisional measures, the use of price undertakings
in anti-dumping cases, and on the duration of anti-dumping measures have been
strengthened. Thus, a significant improvement over the existing Agreement consists
of the addition of a new provision under which anti-dumping measures shall expire
five years after the date of imposition, unless a determination is made that, in the
event of termination of the measures, dumping and injury would be likely to
continue or recur.
A new provision requires the immediate termination of an anti-dumping
investigation in cases where the authorities determine that the margin of dumping
is de minimis (which is defined as less than 2 per cent, expressed as a percentage
of the export price of the product) or that the volume of dumped imports is
negligible (generally when the volume of dumped imports from an individual
country accounts for less than 3 per cent of the imports of the product in question
into the importing country).
The agreement calls for prompt and detailed notification of all preliminary or final
anti-dumping actions to a Committee on Anti-dumping Practices. The agreement
will afford parties the opportunity of consulting on any matter relating to the
operation of the agreement or the furtherance of its objectives, and to request the
establishment of panels to examine disputes.