Dumping investigations

Law No 24,425, regulated by Decree No 1326/1998, incorporated into the Argentine legal system the “General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994” (GATT 1994) which regulates the application of dumping duties.

On September 20, 2006, Decree No 1219/2006 was published in the Official Gazette thereby establishing a new procedure applicable to anti-dumping investigations on products imported from countries with non-market economies (e.g. China). This Decree replaces article 20 of Decree No 2121/1994 and article 66 of Decree No 1326/1998.

This new regulation states that, in order to establish price comparability, the normal value of products imported from countries with non-market economies will be determined by the following criteria:

(i)    internal market sale price in a third country with a market economy; or

(ii)    the price such third country applies to other countries, including Argentina; or

(iii)   construed price in that market economy third country; or

(iv)   if none of the above mechanisms are possible, on any other reasonable basis including the price actually paid or to be paid in Argentina for a similar product, duly adjusted, including a reasonable profit margin.

The new regulation also provides that the administrative act which initiates the procedure must indicate the particular third market-economy country which is chosen for that stage of the investigation. Interested parties may make comments on the election of such country.

Producers/exporters subject to anti-dumping investigations who can prove that they operate in market economy conditions with respect to the production and sale of their products are entitled to the benefit of the application of article 2 of the “Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994”[1] in order to determine the normal value of such products.