World Trade	G/ADP/N/1/CHL/1
	G/SCM/N/1/CHL/1
	7 April 1995
Organization	
	(95-0858)

	Original:  Spanish
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER
ARTICLES 18.5 AND 32.6 OF THE AGREEMENTS

CHILE

	The following communication, dated 15 March 1995, has been received from the Permanent Mission of Chile.

________________

	With reference to documents G/ADP/N/1 of the Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices and G/SCM/N/1 of the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, I have the honour of informing you that the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures are applied with force of law in Chile.

	A draft Law is being prepared at the present time to permit a number of administrative changes.

	Until the above draft is approved, the existing legislation, Article 11 of Law No. 18,525, notified to the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures by means of document SCM/1/Add.16/Rev.2, and its most recent Regulation, Decree No. 575 of 17 June 1993, which is attached, apply to investigations under both Agreements, in so far as they are not inconsistent with them.

	LAW NO. 18,525, D.O., 30 JUNE 1986

	Rules on the Importation of Goods

	Article 10.  Surcharges of 3 per cent, 5 per cent, 8 per cent, 10 per cent, 12 per cent, 15 per cent, 18 per cent and 20 per cent ad valorem and countervailing duties are hereby established for imports of goods of which the entry into the country causes or threatens serious injury to the domestic industry by entering at diminished prices as a result of artificial effects in their respective markets.  The President of the Republic shall determine the goods to which these surcharges and countervailing duties shall apply, as well as their amount and duration, which shall not exceed one year, after receipt of the report by the Commission referred to in the following article.
	
	Article 11.  A National Commission shall be established to investigate the existence of distortions in the prices of imported goods.  This Commission shall comprise the Inspector-General of the Economy, who shall be its Chairman;  two representatives of the Central Bank of Chile, who shall be designated by its Board;  a representative of the Ministry of Finance and a representative of the Ministry of the Economy, Development and Reconstruction, who shall be designated by a resolution published in the Diario Oficial;  the National Director of Customs;  and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated as mentioned above.  The above-mentioned members shall have the deputies provided for by law or, as appropriate, as designated by their respective institutions by resolution published in the Diario Oficial.

	The Commission shall be responsible for hearing complaints concerning distortions in the prices of internationally traded goods.  To that end it shall conduct an investigation in each case.  It shall report the opening and subject of an investigation within five working days after the complaint has been duly lodged, by means of a notice published in the Diario Oficial.  Within 30 days from the date of such notice, the Commission shall receive whatever information interested parties wish to submit and request any reports it considers necessary.  Before reaching a decision it shall also conduct hearings of the interested parties, at their request, to hear their arguments.

	The complaint submitted to the Commission shall indicate the distortion and the manner in which it causes or threatens material injury to the domestic industry affected.  

	Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, the Commission may on its own initiative conduct the investigations referred to in this article when it possesses information which justifies so doing.  Investigations conducted by the Commission on its own initiative shall be subject to the same procedure as is established for investigations upon complaint to the extent applicable.

	Within a maximum period of 90 days from the date of publication of the notice in Diario Oficial, the Commission shall make a decision on the facts under investigation on the basis of the information in its possession.  If the Commission considers that on the basis of such information it is possible to establish the existence of distortions in the price of the product and that such distortions cause or threaten material injury to the affected domestic industry, it shall so state in the decision it delivers for that purpose, in which it shall recommend, either jointly or separately, the establishment of the minimum customs values referred to in Article 9 or the surcharges and countervailing duties referred to in Article 10.

	Before delivering the decision referred to in the previous paragraph and at any stage in the investigation the Commission may request the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Finance, to establish within a period of 60 days provisional surcharges and countervailing duties or minimum customs values.  The duration of the surcharges, countervailing duties or minimum customs values applied under this paragraph shall not extend beyond the date at which the final decision is adopted, and shall be payable if they were in force at the time when the Customs Service accepts an import declaration for processing. 

	The Commission may at any time request the competent authority to modify or repeal measures adopted provisionally.

	In the event that when the investigation has been completed the Commission decides that there is no distortion in the price of the goods concerning which it requested provisional measures, or that distortions do exist but do not cause or threaten serious injury to the national economy, the persons affected by the provisional surcharges, countervailing duties or minimum customs values may apply for the refund of such payments.  Likewise, the persons concerned may request the total or partial refund of amounts paid under such provisional measures when, following a recommendation by the Commission in the relevant resolution that definitive surcharges, countervailing duties or minimum customs values be imposed, the competent authority does not impose any such measure or adopts a measure for a lower amount than that which had to be paid under the provisional measure.  Current interest shall accrue on the amounts to be refunded.  Application for refund must be made within 90 days of the date of entitlement to refund, after which the right thereto shall lapse.

	The resolutions of the Commission shall be adopted by a majority of votes;  in the case of a tied vote the Chairman shall have the deciding vote.

	The Commission established in the first paragraph of this Article shall also be responsible for conducting investigations under the Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI, and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade approved by Decree Law No. 3,567 of 1980 and enacted by Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 300 of 1981.

	Regulations enacted by Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Finance shall establish the necessary procedure for the collection of the duties, taxes and other charges arising out of the provisional imposition of minimum customs values, surcharges and countervailing duties and their refund, where appropriate.  The regulations shall also determine the procedures necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this article.*

	The Central Bank of Chile shall act as the Technical Secretariat of the Commission referred to in the first paragraph of this Article.

DECREE NO. 575 OF THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
Adopting regulations Under Article 11 of Law No. 18,525

	No. 575-Santiago, 17 June 1993.  Having regard to the provisions of Decree Law No. 3,567 of 1980, approving the Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, enacted by Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, No. 300 of 1981, as well as Article 11 of Law No. 18,525 and the powers conferred upon me by paragraph 8 of Article 32 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile, 

	I hereby decree:

	The following regulations under the provisions of Article 11 of Law No. 18,525 concerning investigations into the existence of distortions in the prices of imported goods are hereby adopted.

TITLE 1

THE NATIONAL COMMISSION

	Article 1:  The National Commission created under Article 11 of Law No. 18,525, hereinafter called "the Commission", shall be the body responsible for investigating the existence of distortions in the prices of imported goods and for proposing to the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Finance, in the cases where it is appropriate, the application of countervailing duties, anti-dumping duties, minimum customs values and tariff surcharges.

	The application of such measures may be recommended only when the Commission, in the relevant investigation, finds that the import of such goods causes or threatens actual or imminent serious injury to the domestic industry and that its principal cause is a distortion which diminishes the prices of the goods, in accordance with the terms of Articles 9 and 10 of Law No. 18,525.

	For the purposes of determining the existence of possible distortions in the prices of imported goods, it shall be understood that they can be caused inter alia by the occurrence of the following situations, the general concepts of which are the following:  

1.	"Subsidy" means any bounty or subsidy that a government grants or has granted, directly or indirectly, on the manufacture, production or export of a product in the country of origin or exportation, including any special subsidy to the transportation of such products, any form of support to the internal prices in the country of origin and the foregoing or non-collection of government revenue that would otherwise be due.  

2.	"Dumping".  A product shall be considered to have been dumped when, by means of unfair measures, it has been imported at a price that is less than its normal value, namely, when the export price to Chile is less than the comparable price, in the ordinary course of trade, for the like product when destined for consumption in the exporting country, under competitive conditions.  

	When there are no sales of the like product in the ordinary course of trade in the domestic market of the exporting country or when, because of the particular market situation, including the low volume of sales, such sales do not permit a proper comparison, the margin of dumping shall be determined by comparison with:  

	(a)A comparable price of the like product when it is exported to a third country, provided that this price is representative, or

	(b)The cost of production in the country of origin, plus a reasonable amount for administrative costs, selling costs and costs of any other type, as well as for profits.  

TITLE 2

	Article 2:  The Commission shall comprise:

	(a)	The Inspector-General of the Economy, who shall be its Chairman;

	(b)	two representatives of the Central Bank of Chile, designated by its Board;

	(c)	a representative of the Ministry of Finance;

	(d)	a representative of the Ministry of Economy, Development and Reconstruction;

	(e)	the National Director of Customs;  and  

	(f)	a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

	The representatives indicated in subparagraphs (b), (c), (d) and (f) above shall be designated by their respective institutions by Resolution, which shall be published in the Diario Oficial.

	The members of the Commission referred to in subparagraphs (a) and (e) above shall have deputies in accordance with the law.  The other members shall have as deputies those persons designated by their respective institutions by Resolution, which shall be published in the Diario Oficial.

	The members of the Commission shall carry out their functions in an honorary capacity and shall respect the privacy of confidential information that comes to their knowledge in the exercise of their functions.

	Article 3:  The Chairman of the Commission, in addition to his responsibilities as a member of the Commission, shall:

1.Convene meetings, indicate the items on the respective agenda, open and close meetings and guide the discussions;

	2.Put to the Commission for decision any points of order raised and any votes that are required;

	3.Cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie;  and

	4.Issue whatever communications are required for the Commission to fulfil its functions.

	Article 4:  The Commission shall hold regular and extraordinary meetings;  the quorum of the meeting shall be at least four of its members and shall in all cases include the Chairman or his legally-appointed deputy.  

	Meetings shall be held at the place and time mentioned in the corresponding convocation and shall be devoted to dealing with the items included in their respective agenda, which shall be drawn up in accordance with the instructions given by the Chairman.  Extraordinary meetings of the Commission shall be held at the request of the Chairman or of at least two of its members.  

	Convocations to ordinary meetings, which shall be made in writing be means of a communication issued by the Chairman, shall give at least three working-days' notice.  Convocations for extraordinary meetings, shall be made in the form determined by the Chairman.  All the available information required for the Commission to fulfil its responsibilities shall be included in convocations.

	Article 5:  The meetings of the Commission may be attended by such invited persons as at least three of its members decide to call upon for the examination of the matters indicated in the respective convocations.  

	Before resolving any matter submitted to it, the Commission shall receive interested parties who so request in writing at least three working days before the date on which the Chairman informs them that the relevant meeting will be held.  The Chairman, with the agreement of the Commission, shall determine the time of the hearing and shall indicate in the convocation the date and time at which it will be held.

	Article 6:  The Commission shall adopt its decisions by a majority of the votes cast and in the event of a tie the Chairman shall have the deciding vote.

	Article 7:  The deliberations and decisions of the Commission shall be consigned in an official record kept by the Technical Secretariat, which shall set down the decisions adopted, the votes held and the explanations of votes by the minority.  The official record shall be approved by the members of the Commission and issued by the Chairman of the Commission and the person responsible for the management of the Technical Secretariat, at the latest at the following meeting, unless it is held within five working days of the meeting covered by in the official record, in which case it may be issued at the latest at the subsequent meeting and shall be supplemented by all the information that became available at that meeting.  

	Article 8:  The official records shall be kept in the archives of the Technical Secretariat and shall be public.  The corresponding information shall also be public, except when by its nature it is confidential or the interested party which provided it expressly requested confidentiality on justified grounds.  In this latter case, the interested party shall furnish public summaries and if, in such cases, it fails to duly provide such summaries without just cause, the Commission may disregard the confidential or reserved information.

	Article 9:  The Commission shall have a Technical Secretariat in the Central Bank of Chile, managed by the person designated by the Board of the Bank.

	The Secretariat shall be responsible, in accordance with the instructions given to it by the Commission, for gathering information on distortions in the prices of goods that are imported;  preparing the respective reports;  receiving complaints concerning distortions in the prices of goods that are traded on international markets and other communications to the Commission;  issuing convocations and communications or publications emanating from the Commission;  and in general discharging the other duties indicated in this Regulation and any other tasks which facilitate the work of the Commission.

	The reports issued by the Technical Secretariat shall contain as a minimum a reasoned presentation of the information, the verification and analysis of any distortions in prices, and the manner in which these cause or threaten actual or imminent serious injury to the domestic industry.

	TITLE II

	COMPLAINTS AND INVESTIGATIONS OF DISTORTIONS 
	IN THE PRICES OF IMPORTED GOODS

	Article 10:  Any natural or legal person concerned may make a complaint to the Commission concerning distortions in the prices of imported goods.  

	For this purpose, the complainant shall submit the corresponding written complaint to the Technical Secretariat, addressed to the Chairman of the Commission, and complete the form provided for this purpose by the Secretariat.

	The complaint shall include the information and evidence  which, in the view of the complainant, demonstrate:

	(a)The existence of a distortion of prices;

	(b)the manner in which the distortion causes or threatens actual or imminent serious injury to the domestic industry;  and

	(c) the causal link between the imports and the alleged injury.

	The above-mentioned form shall as a minimum contain  information which enables the complainant to form an opinion of dumping, subsidies, injury to an industry and the causal link between price distortion and the injury caused or threatened to a domestic industry.  

	Article 11:  Once the particulars specified in the form referred to in the previous Article have been satisfactorily provided, the Technical Secretariat shall so certify and immediately inform the complainant in a written communication addressed to the domicile indicated in the complaint submitted.  The complaint shall be considered to have been formally lodged on the working day following the date of the above certification and the Technical Secretariat shall bring it to the cognizance of the Commission without further formalities.

	Complaints which do not comply with the requirements set out in the previous Article shall be returned to the interested party by the Technical Secretariat within 10 working days of their submission.

	Any doubt or discrepancy which may arise relating to the return as set out in the previous paragraph, of the particulars specified in the form shall be resolved by the Chairman of the Commission, who shall decide as the sole instance.  For this purpose, the complainant shall have recourse to the above-mentioned Chairman.

	Article 12:  Within five working days of the date of the formal lodging of a complaint, the Commission shall reach a decision concerning the initiation of an investigation, which it shall notify through the publication of a notice in the Diario Oficial, at the expense of the complainant, which shall contain an extract of the particulars of the complaint and at least the following indications:

	(a)The date of the formal lodging of the complaint;

	(b)the products covered by the complaint and its tariff classification;

	(c)the identity of the complainant or complainants;

	(d)the identity of the producers, exporters and importers of the goods;

	(e)the country of origin of the corresponding product or products;

	(f)a description of the practice or indication of the  measure causing the alleged distortion of prices;

	(g)a brief analysis of the factors allegedly causing the injury to the domestic industry;

	(h)the decision of the Commission as to whether or not the complaint has given rise to an investigation;  and

	(i)the address of the Technical Secretariat, with an indication that any interested party may raise matters in writing concerning the complaint or request a hearing before the Commission.

	Article 13:  Complaints in respect of which it is decided to initiate an investigation shall be notified by the Commission to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that, where appropriate, the latter can notify the countries whose products are to be investigated, with a view to any consultations that may be required.

	Article 14:  Within a period of 30 days from the date of the publication in the Diario Oficial of the notice of initiation of an investigation, as set out in Article 12 above, the Commission shall, through the Technical Secretariat, receive those particulars concerning the investigation which the parties or any third parties concerned consider it appropriate to submit and shall request the reports that it considers necessary.  If information is provided which is qualified as confidential and a public summary of such information satisfactory to the Commission is not supplied, the latter may disregard that information in the investigation, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 8 of this Regulation.

	Article 15:  Within the time-limit of 90 days from the date of publication in the Diario Oficial of the notice of the initiation of an investigation, as set out in Article 12 of this Regulation, the Commission shall reach a decision concerning the matters under investigation on the basis of the information in its possession.

	If, in the opinion of the Commission, on the basis of such information it is possible to establish the existence of distortions in the price of the imported product and that such distortions are producing the effects indicated in the second paragraph of Article 1 of this Regulation, it shall so state in its decision, in which it shall also recommend, jointly or separately, the establishment of the minimum customs values referred to in Article 9 of Law No. 18,525 or the surcharges, countervailing duties or anti-dumping duties referred to in Article 10 of the above Law.

	In any event, the measure recommended may not be greater than the margin of price distortion.  
	Where, in the opinion of the Commission, it is not possible on the basis of the information to conclude that there are price distortions or that these distortions are giving rise to the effects indicated above, it shall terminate the investigation giving the duly supported reasons for its decision.  An extract of the decision adopted, drawn up in accordance with the provisions of the following Article, shall be brought to the notice of the interested parties by the Commission through publication in the Diario Oficial.

	Article 16:  The decision of the Commission establishing the existence of distortions in the price of the imported product referred to in the previous Article shall be transmitted, together with the particulars and conclusions of the investigation, to the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Finance, who shall in turn inform the Commission of the final decision of the President of the Republic.

	An extract of that decision shall be notified by the Commission to the interested parties once the corresponding Decree has been published in the Diario Oficial.

	This extract shall contain as a minimum the particulars indicated in subparagraphs (a) to (g) of Article 12 of this Regulation and information which inter alia summarizes the following aspects:

	(a)The findings relating to the margin of price distortion;

	(b)the considerations relating to the determination of the injury;

	(c)the considerations relating to the determination of the causal link between the price distortion investigated and the injury caused or threatened to the domestic industry;  and

	(d)the definitive decision of the President of the Republic.

	Article 17:  The investigations that the Commission decides to conduct on its own initiative, when in possession of information which justifies so doing, shall be subject to the same procedure as established for investigations upon complaint to the extent applicable.

	Article 18:  The Commission may at any time, when in possession of information for so doing, recommend to the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Finance, that the measures in force be modified or repealed before they are due to expire.

	In order to make the recommendation referred to above, the Commission must have previously heard the views of the interested parties on the information which, in its opinion, makes it necessary to modify or repeal the measure adopted.  The interested parties shall be considered to have been heard 10 working days after having been sent the corresponding communication transmitted by the Commission, whether or not they have made observations concerning the information brought to their attention.

	TITLE III

	PROVISIONAL MEASURES

	Article 19:  Before reaching the decision referred to in the previous Article, the Commission may, at any stage in the investigation and within a period of 60 days of its initiation, when it is necessary to avoid or prevent injury to the domestic industry, request the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Finance, to establish provisional minimum customs duties, surcharges, anti-dumping duties or countervailing duties as referred to in Articles 9 and 10 of Law No. 18,525.

	Article 20:  The surcharges, anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties or minimum customs values applied by virtue of the request referred to in the previous Article shall remain in force, at the most, until such time as the definitive decision is adopted and shall be payable if they were in force at the time when the respective import declaration was accepted for processing by the Customs Service.

	Article 21:  An extract of the recommendation made by the Commission under the terms of Article 19 shall be communicated by the Commission to the interested parties following the publication in the Diario Oficial of the statement by the President of the Republic applying one of the provisional measures requested.

	The above extract shall contain, as a minimum, the particulars set out in subparagraphs (a) to (g) of Article 12 and a summary of  the considerations taken into account by the Commission in making its preliminary determination of the existence of price distortion and of injury or threat of injury to a domestic industry and in establishing that they are caused principally by the existence of the price distortion.

	Article 22:  In the event that, upon conclusion of the investigation, the Commission decides that there is no distortion in the price of the product in respect of which it requested provisional measures, or that, although distortions exist, they are not causing or threatening actual or imminent serious injury to the domestic industry, it may request the President of the Republic to repeal the provisional measures that have been applied.

	An extract of the decision taken by the Commission under the terms of this Article shall be communicated by the Commission to the interested parties following the publication in the Diario Oficial of the respective decision of the President of the Republic.

	The above extract shall contain, as a minimum, the particulars set out in subparagraphs (a) to (g) of Article 12 and a summary of the considerations taken into account by the Commission in requesting the modification or elimination of the provisional measures.

	Article 23:  The Commission may at any time request the President of the Republic, through the Minister of Finance, to modify or repeal a provisional measure.

	Article 24:  Persons affected by provisional measures which are definitively repealed or modified may apply for the refund of the amount paid or the excess amount paid under the respective measures in cases where the Commission decides, upon the conclusion of the investigation, that there is no distortion in the price of the products in respect of which it requested provisional measures or that, although there are distortions, they are not causing or threatening actual or imminent serious injury to the domestic industry.

	The persons affected may also request the total or partial refund of the amount paid under such provisional measures in the case where the Commission has recommended through the relevant decision the definitive application of surcharges, anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties or minimum customs values, but these measures were not imposed by the competent authority, or were imposed for an amount lower than that which had to be paid under the provisional measures.

	Current interest shall accrue on the amounts to be refunded.  Interested parties must apply for a refund within 90 days of the date on which they became entitled to such refund, after which the right thereto shall elapse.

	Article 25:  The duties, taxes and other charges resulting from the provisional establishment of minimum customs values shall be collected by replacing in the import declaration the customs value that should have been entered in accordance with the normal rules of valuation by the provisional minimum customs value to be applied, provided it is higher than the former amount.

	Article 26:  The duties, taxes and other charges resulting from the provisional establishment of surcharges, anti-dumping duties or countervailing duties shall be collected by entering the percentage to be applied in the import declaration and the amount to be paid under such measures in the voucher of receipt of payment, which amount shall be the result of applying the percentage of the surcharge, anti-dumping duty or countervailing duty to the customs value of the item.

	Article 27:  In the event of the refund of duties, taxes and other charges resulting from the provisional  establishment of minimum customs values, surcharges, anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties, the importer requesting the refund must submit an application in writing to the regional director or administrator at customs with whom the import declaration in question was lodged, together with a certified copy of the corresponding import declaration-voucher of receipt of payment.

	FINAL TITLE

	Article 28:  The National Commission indicated in Title I of this Regulation shall also be responsible for conducting investigations under the Agreement on Interpretation and Application of Articles VI, XVI and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, approved by Decree Law No. 3,567 of 1980 and enacted by Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 300 of 1981.

	Article 29:  Supreme Decree No. 545 of the Ministry of Finance, published in the Diario Oficial of 4 September 1990, is  hereby repealed.

	For review, information and publication.  PATRICIO AYLWIN AZOCAR, President of the Republic.  Alejandro Foxley Rioseco, Minister of Finance.

	Transcribed for your information.  

											Yours faithfully, 

											Jorge Rodriguez Grossi,
											Under-Secretary of Finance