I have the
honour to request the establishment of a panel pursuant to Article XXIII of the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ("GATT 1994"), Article 4 and 6 of the
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes and Article 17
of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade 1994 ("Anti-Dumping Agreement") regarding the United States Anti-Dumping
Act of 1916 (Act of September 8, 1916, 39, Stat. 756. Title VIII of that Act is codified
at United States Code 71-74).On 4 June 1998 the
European Communities requested consultations with the United States of America with a view
to reach a mutually satisfactory solution of the matter. The request was circulated in
document WT/DS136/1 dated 24 June 1998. Such consultations, which were held on
29 July 1998 in Geneva, have allowed a better understanding of the respective
positions, but have not led to a satisfactory resolution of the matter.
Therefore
the European Communities request that the Panel consider and find that the
1916 Anti-Dumping Act is inconsistent with the United States of America’s
obligations under:
(1)
the provisions of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organisation
("WTO"), and in particular, but not necessarily exclusively, Article XVI:4,
which imposes the obligation to WTO Members to ensure the conformity of their laws with
their obligations as provided in the WTO Agreements;
(2)
the provisions of GATT 1994 and the Anti-Dumping Agreement, and in particular, but not
necessarily exclusively :
-
Article VI:2 of GATT, which stipulates that anti-dumping duties are the only possible
remedies to dumping;
-
Article 1 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement which requires the carrying-out of an
investigation (which has to respect a set of procedural rules) prior to the imposition of
any duty;
-
Article VI of GATT 1994 and Articles 4 and 5 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement which require
that the complaining industry satisfies certain requirements before being permitted to
bring an anti-dumping complaint;
-
Article VI of GATT 1994 and Article 3 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement which specifically
define and qualify the concept of "material injury";
-
Article VI:1(a) of GATT 1994 and Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement which
set the actual price in the exporting country as the first and privileged criterion for
the calculation of the normal value;
-
Article VI:1 of GATT 1994 and Article 2.1. of the Anti-Dumping Agreement, which require
the introduction of products into the commerce of another country as a prerequisite for
dumping to take place.
In
the alternative, the European Communities request that the panel consider and find that
the 1916 Act, insofar as it leads to applying stricter disciplines to the sale of imported
products at low prices than for the sale of domestic products, is in breach of Article
III:4 of GATT 1994.
The
European Communities request that the panel be established with the standard terms of
reference. |
