Dumping is an unfair trade practice that occurs when a product
or merchandise is imported into the country. To be considered
dumping two conditions must be met: (a) the price of the imported
item or merchandise is less than its normal value in the country
where it comes from; and (b) the imported goods can cause harm
or impede the establishment of the domestic or local industry
making the same or similar article.
2.
Q.
What is an imported product's "normal value"?
A:
The normal value of an imported product is its comparable price
when sold in the country where it is produced or the exporting
country.
3.
Q.
What
is its " comparable price"?
A:
Comparable price means the domestic price of the imported product
in the country of manufacture or origin. This price is usually
the exfactory price at the time it is sold or offered for export
to an importer in the country of destination, in this case,
the Philippines.
4.
Q.
What
are the essential elements that constitute dumping?
A:
Three elements need to be present:
Price
difference between the actual purchase price paid by the
importer and its normal price in the country of origin;
Injury
or harm to the local industry;
A casual link to show that injury to the local industry
is directly due to dumping.
5.
Q.
What
products are subject to anti-dumping protest?
A:
All products imported into the Philippines may be subjected
to an anti-dumping protest, except:
Products
imported by or consigned to government agencies to help
stabilize or supplement shortages in the country;
Conditionally
duty-free importations allowed under Section 105 of the
amended philippine Tariff and Customs Code.
6.
Q.
Who
may file an anti-dumping protest?
A:
Under the anti-dumping law (RA 7843) any domestic producer or
producers association who is unduly affected by dumping may
file a protest against the exporting country of the product
that is dumped.
7.
Q.
Where are anti-dumping protests filed?
A:
An
anti-dumping protest shall be filed in writing with the Revenue
Operations Group of the Department of Finance (DOF).
8.
Q.
What
information are needed to support the protest?
A:
For an anti-dumping protest to proceed, the following information
must be provided:
Specific
description of the product under protest;
Country
of manufacture or production;
Country
of last export sale or origin of shipment;
Purchase
or export price of goods under protest or C&F price
Philippine port minus shipping/transport costs;
Normal
value of imported product;
Proof
of actual damage or threat of injury to the domestic industry;
Name
and address of the importer;
Identity
and Profile of Protesting domestic industry / association/
federation and its current principal officers;
Volume
and Value of the alleged dumped products ;
Actual
production and production capacity of protesting industry/
association/ federation for the last 12 months;
Audited
financial report of a domestic producer or a member-producer
of a producers association for the preceding three years.
9.
Q.
Is there a fee imposed when filing an anti-dumping
protest?
A:
There is no filing fee imposed in anti-dumping protest. It is
advisable , however, to get a lawyer with experience in dumping
laws to facilitate compliance with the procedural and substantive
requirements.
10.
Q.
How is an anti-dumping investigation conducted?
A:
There are two phases in the investigation of anti-dumping
protests:
Preliminary
investigation. This includes consultation and clarification
to determine whether there is a prima facie case or whether
the protest in fact meets the elements that constitute dumping
so that a formal investigation is justified. This is done
by the Bureau of Import Services (BIS) under the Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI);
Formal
investigation is the administrative and fact finding proceeding
which includes filling up questionnaires designed to gather
transaction data and other information useful in the overall
evaluation of the case. This is done by the Tariff Commission.
11.
Q.
When is an evidence considered "prima
facie"?
A:
An evidence is "prima facie" when the difference between
the purchase price and the normal value of the imported product
in question is established. The investigation, however, is not
only confined to the price difference but will also include
overall evaluation of other documents and data to support a
presumption that dumping indeed has occured or is occuring.
12.
Q.
What is the coverage of the investigation?
A:
All shipments/importations of the product under protest from
the same countryof origin within 150 days prior to the formal
filing of the protest are covered in the preliminary investigation.
13.
Q.
What is done to shipment in question while
the investigation is going on?
A:
Shipments under a dumping protest may stll be released provided
the importer puts up or deposits an anti-dumping bond equivalent
to the amount of the estimated margin of dumping.
