Appellee Submission of the United States of America
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UNITED STATES – COUNTERVAILING AND ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES ON CERTAIN PRODUCTS FROM CHINA (AB-2014-4 / DS449) APPELLEE SUBMISSION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA April 30, 2014 SERVICE LIST Participant H.E. Mr. Yu Jianhua, Permanent Mission of China Third Participants H.E. Mr. Hamish McCormick, Permanent Mission of Australia H.E. Mr. Jonathan T. Fried, Permanent Mission of Canada H.E. Mr. Angelos Pangratis, Permanent Mission of the European Union H.E. Mr. Jayant Dasgupta, Permanent Mission of India H.E. Mr. Yoichi Otabe, Permanent Mission of Japan H.E. Mr. Alexey Borodavkin, Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation H.E. Mr. Mehmet Haluk Ilicak, Permanent Mission of Turkey H.E. Mr. Nguyen Trung Thanh, Permanent Mission of Viet Nam TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................. i TABLE OF REPORTS .................................................................................................................. iii I. Introduction And Executive Summary ............................................................................... 1 A. Overview ................................................................................................................. 1 B. Summary of Key Facts as Found by the Panel and Erroneous Assertions by China ................................................................................................................................. 3 C. The Panel Correctly Interpreted Article X:2 and Applied Its Understanding to the Facts ........................................................................................................................ 8 D. The Appellate Body Should Reject China’s Request to Complete the Analysis .. 12 II. The Panel Correctly Found that China Failed to Establish that the GPX Legislation is Inconsistent with Article X:2 of the GATT 1994 ............................................................. 13 A. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 13 B. The Panel Correctly Established the Baseline of Comparison for Determining Whether the GPX Legislation Effected an Advance in a Rate of Duty under an Established and Uniform Practice ......................................................................... 14 1. The Term “Under an Established and Uniform Practice” Modifies the Terms “Rate of Duty” and “Other Charge” .............................................. 14 2. Even Assuming Arguendo that the Term “Under an Established and Uniform Practice” Modifies the Measure at Issue, the Panel Did not Err in Considering Commerce’s Existing Practice as a Baseline for Comparison ................................................................................................................... 26 C. The Panel Correctly Established the Baseline of Comparison for Determining Whether the GPX Legislation Imposed a New or More Burdensome Requirement or Restriction on Imports ...................................................................................... 27 1. The Panel Did Not Incorporate the Term “Under an Established and Uniform Practice” into the Phrase “New or More Burdensome Requirement [or] Restriction”................................................................... 29 2. The Context of Article X:2 Supports the Panel’s Finding to Consider Commerce’s Application of the U.S. CVD Law to Imports from China . 30 D. The Panel Used as the Timeframe for Comparison the Time at Which the United States Began to Enforce the Challenged Measure and Properly Found that the Measure Was Not Enforced until Enacted ............................................................ 32 III. The Panel Acted Consistently with Article 11 of the DSU .............................................. 34 A. The Panel Did Not Fail to Make an Objective Assessment of the Facts When It Found that Commerce’s Application of the U.S. CVD Law was not a Breach of U.S. Municipal Law .............................................................................................. 35 B. The Panel Did Not Fail to Examine the Text of the Relevant Legal Instrument .. 36 i C. The Panel Did Not Fail to Make an Objective Assessment of the Matter Before It By Considering the Status and Meaning of U.S. Domestic Litigation Using the Approach of the U.S. Legal System...................................................................... 39 IV. The Appellate Body Should Decline China’s Request To Complete the Analysis .......... 42 A. Standard for Completing the Legal Analysis of Relevant Issues ......................... 43 B. The Panel’s Findings on the Baseline of Comparison for Article X:2 of the GATT 1994 Could Assist the Appellate Body in Completing its Legal Analysis ........... 44 C. The Facts Presented by China in its Appellant Submission are Disputed ............ 49 1. China’s Characterization of the U.S. CVD Law Is Not an Undisputed Fact ................................................................................................................... 50 2. China’s Characterization of a 1986 U.S. Domestic Court Opinion Is Not an Undisputed Fact ................................................................................... 51 3. China’s Characterization of the Legislation and Commerce’s Administration of the CVD Law after Georgetown Steel Are Not Undisputed Facts ....................................................................................... 54 4. China’s Characterization of Commerce’s Application of the U.S. CVD Law to China Is Not an Undisputed Fact .................................................. 56 5. China’s Characterization of the GPX Litigation Is Not an Undisputed Fact ................................................................................................................... 59 6. China’s Characterization of the GPX Legislation Is Not an Undisputed Fact ............................................................................................................ 61 D. The Appellate Body Should Not Consider China’s Newly Submitted Evidence . 65 V. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 67 ii TABLE OF REPORTS Short Form Full Citation Australia – Salmon (AB) Appellate Body Report, Australia – Measures Affecting Importation of Salmon, WT/DS18/AB/R, adopted 6 November 1998 Canada – Autos (AB) Appellate Body Report, Canada – Certain Measures Affecting the Automotive Industry, WT/DS139/AB/R, WT/DS142/AB/R, adopted 19 June 2000 Canada – Continued Appellate Body Report, Canada – Continued Suspension of Suspension (AB) Obligations in the EC – Hormones Dispute, WT/DS321/AB/R, adopted 14 November 2008 Chile – Price Band System Appellate Body Report, Chile – Price Band System and (Article 21.5 — Argentina) Safeguard Measures Relating to Certain Agricultural Products (AB) – Recourse to Article 21.5 of the DSU by Argentina, WT/DS207/AB/RW, adopted 22 May 2007 China – Publications and Appellate Body Report, China – Measures Affecting Trading Audiovisual Products (AB) Rights and Distribution Services for Certain Publications and Audiovisual Entertainment Products, WT/DS363/AB/R, adopted 19 January 2010 EC – Asbestos (AB) Appellate Body Report, European Communities – Measures Affecting Asbestos and Asbestos-Containing Products, WT/DS135/AB/R, adopted 5 April 2001 EC – Fasteners (China) Appellate Body Report, European Communities – Definitive (AB) Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Iron or Steel Fasteners from China, WT/DS397/AB/R, adopted 28 July 2011 EC – IT Products Panel Reports, European Communities and its member States – Tariff Treatment of Certain Information Technology Products, WT/DS375/R / WT/DS376/R / WT/DS377/R, adopted 21 September 2010 EC – Large Civil Aircraft Appellate Body Report, European Communities and Certain (AB) Member States – Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft, WT/DS316/AB/R, adopted 1 June 2011 EC – Selected Customs Appellate Body Report, European Communities – Selected Matters (AB) Customs Matters, WT/DS315/AB/R, adopted 11 December 2006 iii Short Form Full Citation Japan – Alcoholic Appellate Body Report, Japan – Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages, Beverages II (AB) WT/DS8/AB/R, WT/DS10/AB/R, WT/DS11/AB/R, adopted 1 November 1996 US – Carbon Steel (AB) Appellate Body Report, United States – Countervailing Duties on Certain Corrosion-Resistant Carbon Steel Flat Products from Germany, WT/DS213/AB/R, adopted 19 December 2002 US – Continued Zeroing Appellate Body Report, United States – Continued Existence (AB) and Application of Zeroing Methodology, WT/DS350/AB/R, adopted 19 February 2009 US – Gambling (AB) Appellate Body Report, United States – Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services, WT/DS285/AB/R, adopted 20 April 2005 US – Gasoline (AB) Appellate Body Report, United States – Standards for Reformulated and Conventional Gasoline, WT/DS2/AB/R, adopted 20 May 1996 US – Hot-Rolled Steel (AB) Appellate Body Report, United States – Anti-Dumping Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Steel Products from Japan, WT/DS184/AB/R, adopted 23 August 2001 US – Offset Act (Byrd Appellate Body Report, United States – Continued Dumping Amendment) (AB) and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000, WT/DS217/AB/R, WT/DS234/AB/R, adopted 27 January 2003 US – Shrimp (Article 21.5 Appellate Body Report, United States – Import Prohibition of – Malaysia) (AB) Certain Shrimp and Shrimp Products – Recourse to Article 21.5