Page 589 - Manual Of Operating Practices For Trade Remedy Investigations

Manual of OP for Trade Remedy Investigations

(i) refuses access to necessary information;
(ii) otherwise fails to provide necessary information within a reasonable
period; or

(iii) significantly impedes the investigation."
24.28. In a WTO dispute EU – Footwear (China) (DS-405), the Panel held that non-
confidential summary does not have to be in the same format in which confidential
information was presented to the investigating authority:

“Article 6.5.1 requires that non-confidential summaries of confidential
information must 'permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of
the information submitted in confidence'. Nothing in the text of the Article
6.5.1 requires that the summary of the confidential information must
correspond exactly to the format in which the information was requested
or provided on a confidential basis.”

VIII. VERIFICATION

24.29 In Guatemala – Cement-II (Panel Report, Guatemala – Definitive
Anti-dumping Measures on Grey Portland Cement from Mexico, WTO Doc. WT/
DS156/R - Oct. 24, 2000), the WTO Panel made following observation:

[A]nnex II(3) provides that all information which is ‘verifiable’, and
‘appropriately submitted so that it can be used in the investigation without
undue difficulties’, should be taken into account by the investigating
authority when determinations are made. In other words, ‘best information
available’ should not be used when information is ‘verifiable’, and when ‘it
can be used in the investigation without undue difficulties.
24.30. Further, with regard to when should a verification be undertaken, the WTO
Panel in EC – Salmon (Norway) noted the following:

“In our view, this [whether information is verifiable or not] must be a
conclusion reached on the basis of a case-by-case assessment of the
particular facts at issue, including not only the nature of the information
submitted but also the steps, if any, taken by the investigating authority to
assess the accuracy and reliability of the information.”
24.31. The Panel in Argentina – Ceramic Tiles, (DS-189) indicated in a footnote
that, although a common practice, there is no requirement to carry out on-the-spot
verifications:

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